Commission approves Asian Art Museum interior installation; staff to monitor conditions

The Historic Preservation Commission on Jan. 6 unanimously approved a certificate of appropriateness for an interior art installation at the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street.

Staff (Elisha Tuffy) told the commission the project meets the Secretary of the Interior standards for treatment of historic interiors and recommended approval with one monitoring condition. The project architect, Alyssa Skaggs of Page and Trumbull, described the work as an array of porcelain letters and fragments suspended from a metal grid, hung by threaded rods through existing ceiling penetrations; the installation will be lit with LED track lighting, the steel support frame will rest on plaster capitals without mechanical attachment to historic fabric, and the grid will leave an approximately eight‑inch separation from the surrounding walls. Structural review was reported to be completed with Forell Elsesser (structural engineers) confirming the proposed support approach.

Linda Le, a docent and president of the Society for Asian Art, testified in strong support, calling the work "in perfect harmony with all the original inscribed quotations on the walls of the loggia" and noting the piece is a nonpermanent gift to the museum in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Commissioners complimented the design's sensitivity and voted to approve the item with the staff's monitoring condition. The motion passed 7–0.