A train, a ridgeline grace profile of new art museum

Among the people eagerly watching the progress of the new Art Museum of Western Virginia is its Los Angeles-based architect, Randall Stout. Stout was in town late last month to assess the progress of the $66 million project. It is the first museum the Tennessee-born architect has designed from scratch.

Stout, who produced multiple models of the museum before construction started, said he has not been surprised by the unusual shapes and angles it has carved into the Roanoke skyline.

But seeing the building at life size, on the other hand, is "interesting," Stout said. "You can never predict how it will make you feel."

The reactions of others have been interesting, too. The architect has heard comments on the surprising locomotive profile the museum presents alongside the railroad tracks -- something that was not so evident in early mock-ups.

And Stout has often mentioned how the undulating shapes of the roof are meant to echo the surrounding ridgelines.

"One thing we try really hard to do is make the buildings about the space they are in," Stout explained.

Stout said the construction on the museum has just passed the halfway mark. Look for work on the soaring glass entryway to begin in the next several weeks, and then a year of less dramatic changes, as construction moves inside. The museum is scheduled to open in late 2008.