Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum, by Olson Kundig Architects, with Jim Olson as the Principal Design Architect, opened to the public on November 14, 2009. The basic concept for this new $12.8 million museum (located in Bellingham, WA,) was to create a museum that was turned inside out. Making the building as active on the outside as it is on the inside.

The exterior of the museum is an invitation to engage in art and allows pedestrians walking by to view the art and activity within. The museum consists of an iconic 36-foot-tall, 180-foot-long translucent wall, “the lightcatcher,” and it's conceived as the focal point and backdrop to a central courtyard that will become a new gathering place for the city.

The building is 42,000 square feet. It is LEED registered and designed to LEED Silver level. Sustainable features include a green roof above the lobby, a rainwater harvesting system, pervious paving, double-skin curtain wall glazing at the lightcatcher wall, and natural ventilation in the public gathering spaces.

Photographers: Tim Bies (Olson Kundig Architects) and Benjamin Benschneider.