The museum is lifted into the sky so that the galleries can be lit by natural light, modulated by mechanical louvers that can also block light out if necessary.  The space of the gallery is a large, flexible volume which can be curated in innumerable ways to meet the needs of the universities’ emerging collection.  The floating galleries become a campus icon, orienting visitors within the campus and engaging the public.  The main entry is at the top of a grand stair that doubles as a casual gathering space and as an amphitheatre that activates the adjacent Ninth Street Mall.  As one walks through the shadow cast by the hovering galleries above, a shaft of light descends from an oculus set in to the shell of the building, which acts as a beacon of light to visitors during shows and major events.