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When Brian Ferriso first visited the Portland Art Museum, in downtown, a volunteer told him to avoid entering the Mark building, which was built in 1970 and renovated in 2005.

鈥淚 said, 鈥榃hy is that?’ 鈥� Ferriso recalled. 鈥淎nd she said, 鈥榊ou’ll get lost and there’s no restrooms.’ 鈥�

Ferriso’s experience was not unique. The museum has long struggled to reconcile its two primary buildings 鈥� the Mark building and the original main building, which was designed by late Portland architect Pietro Belluschi and built in 1932.

Since becoming the museum’s director, Ferriso has investigated how to unify its campus bordered by Southwest Park and 10th avenues and Jefferson Street. He’s now working to raise money for an ambitious $50 million project known as the Rothko Pavilion to unify the two buildings with a central transparent glass centerpiece and significant interior renovations.

Visitors often become confused about how to navigate between the two buildings, and how to move vertically among the museum’s four floors.

鈥淩ight now when you walk into the museum there’s no sense of how to get up and down and to move around,鈥� Ferriso said. 鈥淪o we want to be very deliberate in showing horizontal and vertical circulation routes.鈥�

After years of delays while the museum paid off $8 million in debt and endured the recession, the plan was kick-started by an $8 million anonymous gift and a $5 million donation from the Schnitzer family. The total raised now is $22.7 million, or nearly half of the museum’s goal. (In addition to the $50 million capital campaign, the museum is seeking $25 million for the institution’s endowment).

The project comes against a backdrop of significant projects by Portland’s other nonprofit pillars, including the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, which is in the midst of a master plan orchestrated by Snohetta. The Oregon Zoo, operated by Metro, is at work on bond-funded projects including a new polar bear habitat and an education center.

Construction of the Rothko Pavilion is projected to begin in 2018 if fundraising is successful. Completion would occur in late 2020 or 2021.

The museum has retained Vinci Hamp Architects of Chicago to design the Rothko Pavilion. VHA previously worked on temporary exhibit spaces at the Portland Art Museum. The firm also designed the Arts Club of Chicago and temporary exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Ferriso sought out an architecture firm with museum experience. He previously worked with VHA in Portland and in Milwaukee.

鈥淎s an art museum, we have so many requirements for art objects 鈥� space, climate control, movement,鈥� Ferriso said. 鈥淚t’s a very specific building needed for museums, and having someone who is extremely conversant in that is important.鈥�

VHA has extensive experience handling historic preservation, which is an important aspect of the Rothko Pavilion design given its interaction with two existing buildings. Among other projects, VHA restored the W.A. Glasner residence, a Frank Lloyd Wright design in suburban Chicago.

The Portland Art Museum also will hire a local architect to consult on code, landscape, historic preservation and seismic work. The local architect has not been hired yet, although Ferriso said he’s had initial conversations with a local firm.

Hoffman Construction has consulted on project planning.

鈥淭hat doesn’t mean Hoffman will get the job, but we had some preliminary discussions with them,鈥� Ferriso said.

A competitive bidding process will take place with input from a museum committee, he added. A call made to Hoffman Construction for comment was not returned immediately.

Ferriso said that in response to a fundraising pitch, one potential donor told him that $50 million is a lot for a 鈥済lass box.鈥� But Ferriso is adamant that the project is much more. Project plans call for a staircase tower that will allow visitors to more easily move about the museum, new galleries, a library and restrooms, an outdoor deck, a new underground education space excavated from below the Belluschi building and a new loading dock. The current library will become a contemporary center for new art.

As part of the project, the floor of the original Belluschi building will be raised.

鈥淭he complexity of this project is basically that the floor plates don’t line up perfectly,鈥� Ferriso said.

In all, the expansions and renovations cover 30,000 square feet.

The Rothko Pavilion will also act as a more inviting entrance to the west and Southwest 10th Avenue. Substantial growth has taken place since the museum’s previous expansion, perhaps most notably the construction of Eliot Tower 鈥� an 18-story high-rise designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects that was completed in 2006 and relies heavily on glass.

鈥淚 really wanted to create an entry into that part of the city,鈥� Ferriso said. 鈥淭he city is developing to the west. So this would be another entry and a more overt invitation to our community.鈥�

The Rothko Pavilion’s glass design is intended to play off of Eliot Tower and give passersby a glimpse into the museum and to provide a lighter counterpoint to the museum masonry’s darker appearance.

鈥淭he ability to see art and people will make it, I think, more inviting,鈥� Ferriso said.

The pavilion will be named for Mark Rothko, a noted 20th-century abstract painter who was known as Marcus Rothkowitz while growing up in Portland. Born in Latvia in 1903, Rothko moved to Portland in 1913. He took classes at the museum’s art school (then in a different location) in 1915. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1921 before finding fame in New York City.

As part of an agreement with Rothko’s children, Christopher and Kate Rothko Prizel, who reside in New York, the museum will exhibit one work at a time from the family’s collection on a rotating basis for the next 20 years. The Portland Art Museum at present has only one Rothko piece 鈥� a minor work on paper.

Rothko is 鈥淥regon’s most famous artist of the 20th century,鈥� Ferriso said. 鈥淲e’re recognizing and honoring him.鈥�

Project box:

Rothko Pavilion at the Portland Art Museum

Anticipated construction start date: 2018

Anticipated finish date: 2020-2021

Architect: Vinci Hamp Architects

Construction consultant: Hoffman Construction

Cost: $50 million

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