Creative Renovation: The Gambrell Center at Queens University
Queens University of Charlotte is a historic and beautiful campus characterized by red brick and tall, white columns and a notable collection of contemporary art spread across the grounds. As of this spring, an existing building has been fully renovated to showcase the emphasis placed on culture and the arts by the university and the community it serves, creating an intersection between the university and the surrounding community.
From the outside, the fully reworked facade now integrates with the aesthetic of the campus, offering a wide plaza and cooling fountains to passersby. Inside, The Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement is a distinctively contemporary arts space with no indications of its previous lines. Visitors who knew it well are pleased and awed by the new atmosphere, the engaging artwork, and the improved functionality of the spaces within. Previously the E.H. Little Fine Arts Center, the facility now hosts the Sandra Levine Theater, 1000+ seats on three levels; a 150 seat recital hall; two galleries; multiple meeting spaces; and offices, classrooms, and rehearsal and studio spaces for the music and fine arts studies.
Heurista was selected in a competitive search to create a comprehensive set of donor recognition signs to support the sleek, modern aesthetic of the space while celebrating the important donors who helped make the project a reality. A central display wraps a corner in the lobby, offering insight into the history of the building alongside recognition for Sarah Belk Gambrell and other donors to the project. Simple, brushed aluminum plaques and well-integrated decals on the theater seats continue the minimalist aesthetic, allowing the art and architecture to shine.
The donor wall is an arrangement of eight separate panels wrapping an irregular corner left in the architecture from the original building. Individual panels allow for easy updating of content should new donors be added to the display over time.
Visitors’ movements trigger changes in the interactive video wall in the lobby. Changes in the colors of the video wall are then reflected in the donor wall creating a sense of dynamic interaction between the donors, the art, and the community.
Anne Manner-McLarty is the managing editor of the Journal of Donor Relations and Stewardship. She founded Heurista in 2011, a leading resource for consulting specific to donor relations and stewardship, with particular expertise in the donor recognition program design and implementation.