AUSTIN, TX.- Arthouse announced today that the New York-based architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis has been selected as the design team for the renovation and expansion of their current exhibition space and headquarters at the Jones Center in downtown Austin, Texas. Arthouse is both the oldest statewide visual arts organization in Texas, and the only one devoted solely to contemporary art. The expanded facility will enable Arthouse to increase its activities to include multiple exhibitions, an artist-in-residence program, and more education, public and community events.

The Jones Center at 700 Congress Avenue is a two-story, 16,000-square-foot building originally constructed circa 1850 but almost entirely refurbished in the 1950s to house the Lerner Shops department store. Its distinct modern-era façade and robust concrete frame with brick infill and steel roof trusses are located on a corner site of a historic district five blocks away from the Texas State Capital. The first floor was initially renovated in 1998 by Dallas-based architect Gary Cunningham to make the Jones Center more conducive to presenting contemporary art. This time, the project calls for the expansion of the building renovation to include the second floor and roof.

The new renovation will allow Arthouse to present expanded programs in larger gallery spaces and create artists’ studios. Gallery space will increase by approximately 6,000 square-feet and three artist studios of roughly 500 square-feet each will be built. The plan also includes renovating the Jones Center rooftop into a lounge for temporary art installations and special events.

“The appointment of Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis to renovate our building also reflects Arthouse’s desire to embrace and promote contemporary architecture in Texas,” according to Executive Director Sue Graze. “We are confident that their unconventional use of materials and forms will strengthen further the public presence of the Jones Center, providing visitors with a greater capacity to experience contemporary art in a broader and more appropriate way.”

The final design for the renovation will be presented in the fall of 2005.

About Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis (LTL) - Since its creation eight years ago, the New York-based architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis, www.ltlwork.net, has earned a reputation for transforming relatively small New York City interiors with its innovative, dynamic designs. Using unconventional forms and materials, LTL has often converted confined areas into more spacious-feeling interiors. Some of their most recent and acclaimed designs include Xing Restaurant and Tides Restaurant, both in New York City. For the firm’s first curatorial project, Architecture + Water, which premiered at the Van Alen Institute in New York City and traveled to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in November 2003, they selected five projects for an exhibition exploring water as a catalyst for architectural invention. LTL was also chosen to participate in the U.S. Pavilion at the 2004 Architecture Biennale in Venice.

About Arthouse - Headquartered at the Jones Center in Austin, Texas, Arthouse is the oldest statewide visual arts organization in Texas, and the only one devoted solely to contemporary art. Arthouse seeks to promote the growth and appreciation of contemporary art and artists in Texas. Through its exhibitions and programs in Austin and statewide, Arthouse helps nurture artists’ careers and deepen public understanding of contemporary art.