Shane Napper, the project manager from Grand Rapids-based Rockford Construction, said the custom plywood forms were developed by concrete subcontractor Grand River Construction of Hudsonville.
“We put in the parking structure that’s below the building first,” Napper said. “And we put in a full millwork shop on site. It’s almost like a waler system. The forms were all wood with tie rods through them.”
Los Angeles-based architect Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture Inc. designed the building.
The 125,000 square-foot concrete and glass building is organized around a central pavilion of glass and light-colored concrete flanked by a reflecting pool, a pocket park with a water wall and open-air sculpture and dining courtyards. The three-floor gallery wing will feature glass skylight lanterns which admit natural light into the space, and which will illuminate the building at night. In addition to its galleries, the building design includes a multi-use, flexible seating auditorium, education center, art reference library, café, museum shop and conference and study rooms.