Inside the North Carolina Museum of Art, the light of day has a presence unusual in institutional galleries for art. Overhead, hundreds of elliptical oculi in long parallel vaults bathe the Museum interior in even, full-spectrum daylight, modulated by layers that filter out damaging rays. In this gently luminous setting, against pure white walls, the art—including a masterful Giotto altarpiece—takes on heightened immediacy and vividness.

The Museum is, in some respects, a single 65,000-square-foot room. A succession of wall planes, many freestanding, delineate separate galleries. Each gallery has at least one open corner, inviting fluid movement. Museum visitors also float freely from indoor galleries to outdoor sculpture courts or gardens and back in again.

This book of photography highlights the award-winning architecture of the NCMA’s West Building.

Softcover, 140 pages
ORO Editions (November 29, 2011)
11.4” x 11.4” x 0.5”