Art Cave

2007
Bade Stageberg Cox
Napa Valley, CA

5,750 GSF

Museums & Galleries

2008
IES New York, Lumen Award of Merit
IES International, Illumination Design Merit Award

Designed to provide an intimate gallery space for a growing private collection, the Art Cave is nested into a hillside on a 17-acre site in Napa Valley. RDG provided a flexible, minimal lighting system integrated into the layers of the curved ceiling to match the cave’s raw white walls and concrete floors.

Low voltage strip lighting was integrated into the steel entryway to reinforce the transition between landscape and cave, while coves were designed into the cave’s structure to allow for semi-concealed light sources. Incandescent lamps within the coves are fitted with parabolic louvers to make the fixture lower in brightness in the long view. The coves are non-continuous to create a rhythm of ceiling planes that complements the space’s curved walls. In addition, recessed track provides another layer of light along with flexibility. 

Since the collection includes works of various media, the lighting concept was devised to evenly illuminate all art surfaces. The space also contains two partition walls to support weighty pieces: the differing light sources on these and the cave walls were purposefully balanced for harmony within the space.