Ohio-based architecture and interior design firm Emersion Design has been selected to lead an architecture and engineering partnership that will renovate the 1886-built Art Academy Building. Emersion Design will work in close collaboration with Advanced Engineering Consultants on engineering work, and Heapy Engineering on electrical work.

The facility will be renovated in an attempt to consolidate more than 180 CAM staff members currently working in spaces throughout the building. This consolidation is expected to create an opportunity for additional renovation work down the line. The renovation will result in an additional 15,000 square feet of exhibition space.

According to CAM director Aaron Betsky, the renovation scheme led by Emersion will be sensitive both to the legacy of the Art Academy Building’s past and the present need for environmentally sensitive design. The project will also offer enhanced work spaces for staff.

The project currently in its early phases, is expected to break ground in early 2011, with an organized fund raising campaign scheduled to begin in October 2010.

Founded in 1881, the museum features 88 galleries and a permanent collection of over 80000 works of international art.