The Ashtabula Arts Center is a modern masterpiece designed by acclaimed architect Fred Toguchi. Originally designed in the early 1970s, and having seen multiple expansions by Toguchi, the sprawling arts center has a become an icon for Ashtabula. The unique roof line and bold diagonal wood siding are a trademark of the complex. As an over 50 year old facility, AAC has served its community well but is in need of further modernization and expansion. The proposed design consists of a new entrance lobby acting as an exhibition gallery and a theater pre-function space. Inserted between two building masses, the new entrance lobby compliments the original architecture’s angular roof line while using the lightness and transparency of glass to contrast with monolithic diagonal wood siding. This balance between old and new, solid and transparent, fine detail and exaggerated scale, demonstrates a respect for the original architecture. It’s a forward looking addition that, while elegant in its own right, augments the sense of arrival and entry into the facility. It creates a new threshold and a new interpretation to Toguchi’s classic design.