The dominant ruby-colored contemporary art gallery will mark the Texas city for the Linda Pace Foundation - and the construction work has finally started on David Adjaye's skewed, playful structure in San Antonio, Texas. Ghanaian British architect David Adjaye's modern crimson-hued building, extending from South Flores Street to the San Pedro Creek, will house the Foundation’s growing collection of more than 800 paintings, sculptures, installations and video works by contemporary artists from around the world. The $16-million budget project is privately funded by Linda Pace Foundation.

David Adjaye Associates revealed the first plans of the building in 2015 and the new series of images show more details about the materiality of the building in a realistic way. 

The building is located towards the San Pedro Creek Improvements Project, which will transform a concrete-lined waterway into a natural creek habitat and world-class linear park. 

The architect's first inspiration is derived from a sketch of a ruby structure drawn by the artist, collector, philanthropist and founder of the Foundation Linda Pace, after she saw it in a lucid dream. Pace believed strongly in the power of art as a vital social force and she believed that this 14,000-square-foot (1,300-square-metre), two-story building will move this mission forward. 

"Linda Pace was a visionary and humanitarian in the trust sense. She wanted nothing more than to enrich and improve the world through art. It is incredibly humbling to be entrusted  with a piece of her legacy. Our goal for this project has been to capture the essence of her dream by creating a space of where contemporary art inspire both artists and the wider community," said Sir David Adjaye, principal of Adjaye Associates.

Named Ruby City, Adjaye's design passionately embraces the references of the past with a new embodied form and vision. The newly-released images show that the building becomes a concrete result of the Pace's vision. The structure features a distinctive exterior skin that will be clad in deep red panels of precast concrete with glass and mica aggregate and the structure will shimmer in the light.

"The red planes will be punctuated by strategically placed lenses that will overlook CHRISpark and a new sculpture garden. Largely rectangular, the building will feature a dramatic rooftop of sloping angles and skylights that will rise to varying heights and echo cut-away spaces at the building’s base," detailed the Linda Pace Foundation.

"The entrance plaza, formed by the building’s cantilevered structure and the ground floor lobby, share the vibrant ruby color pattern establishing a dynamic and porous relationship between indoor and outdoor elements. A grand staircase takes visitors to a series of gallery spaces, which feature concrete floors with white walls and ceilings to allow the extensive collection to take center focus."

"We are thrilled to take the next step in making the beautiful dream of Ruby City a reality," said Rick R. Moore, Foundation President.

"San Antonio has long been a destination for art aficionados and creators alike, and Linda Pace Foundation was created to bolster that legacy through its collections, programs and public spaces. In addition to helping drive our local creative economy through grants and other support, the Trustees and staff of the Foundation are proud to construct this functional symbol of our city’s ongoing love affair with the arts," added Rick R. Moore.

Adjaye Associates is working with the local teams on the project including Alamo Architects, Executive Architect - Norton Company, Project Management - and Whiting- Turner, General Contractor.

The Ruby City is expected to complete in late 2018, timed to coincide with a year’s worth of celebrations for San Antonio’s 300th birthday. A public opening and inaugural exhibitions are planned for early 2019.

All images © Adjaye Associates 

> via Linda Pace Foundation / Adjaye Associates