ENVRIONMENTAL DISPLAYS
The new entrance and lobby atrium at Portsmouth Regional Hospital has now been joined by exhibits for Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and University of New Hampshire's PREP environmental program.
The atrium space created by the architect is a 66 x 44 x 22 space designed to admit generous amounts of natural light, and was created out of an alley between two adhacent buildings. Our assignment was to devise a scheme reflective of city's longtime seagoing heritage (still very much active today), and to create a display system to support rotating art exhibitions.
A wall mural was created of an 1867 US coastal survey map of Portsmouth Harbor, over which the display system was installed. The system is mounted to two horizontal tracks that support repositionable vertical wood columns, a vestigial symbol of traditional shipbuilding methods. Height-selectable horizontal aluminum elements, reminiscent of the modern ships that now ply Portsmouth's waters, are fixed between the supports, and from these the artwork is hung.
Architect: JSA Inc., Portsmouth NH
General Contractor: RJ Griffin, Portsmouth NH
Mural and art display system fabrication: Image 4, Manchester NH
Exhibitor: Philip Case Cohen, thedailyportsmouth.com, Portsmouth NH
Canvas photo prints: Infinite Imaging, Portsmouth NH
Feature displays: ImageXpress, Newton NH (printing), Keith Gagne LLC, installation.
