The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston has named its new addition the Watershed, a reference both to its location along Boston Harbor and what museum leadership hopes the new venue will symbolize for the city’s arts community. Featured on the new addition are a pair of unique concept doors from Schweiss Doors of Hector, MN.

Michael Taubenberger, Chief Operating Officer for ICA, says the grand opening was a great success. “We have received a lot of positive feedback from visitors who really enjoy the space that illuminates the Watershed with colored light and moving-image projections that reflect on the fragility of the natural world. Additionally, many visitors are enjoying the six-minute boat ride across the harbor between the two locations. We are noticing that about 57 percent of Watershed visitors visit both Watershed and ICA.”

The expansion of its artistic programming across Boston Harbor to the Boston Shipyard and Marina, located in East Boston, presents artworks and public programs seasonally in the $10 million newly renovated 15,000-square-foot former copper pipe and sheet metal factory space. Watershed is projected to bring thousands of new visitors to a once-isolated part of the city.

Convenient for this purpose are two unique Schweiss Doors bifold liftstrap designer doors positioned at opposite ends of the building. The doors are each 15'-9" wide. One is 19'-9" tall and the other is two inches taller. The doors are equipped with electric photo eye sensors, door base safety edges and an emergency back-up system.

“The award-winning firm of Anmahian Winton Architects was engaged to execute the renovation of the facility,” Taubenberger says. “They wanted to create a dramatic and inviting opening on both ends of the building with the goal of reinforcing the welcoming and inviting mission of the ICA Watershed. The overlapped panel extends the canopy effect of the upward acting doors, creating a distinctive entry on the north side and shading for the outdoor terrace on the south side. From the beginning of the project, we had imagined using these walls and the large doors as a big inviting sign to draw visitors to the space.”

The bifold doors for this project have a rather unique look, in that the ICA emblazoned Watershed logo is visible on both halves of the front door and remains visible when the door is partially open. Translucent polycarbonate cladding also gives the door a pretentious look, allowing colors and light from the inside the Watershed to show through.

The new ICA logo was designed by the international design consultancy Pentagram of New York. The ICA worked with Pentagram to place the logo on the door and split it between the upper and lower sections.

“The architect wanted us to design and engineer the door so that a secondary frame for the top half of the door would overlap our primary doorframe members for the bottom half of the door,” says Brent Krzmarzick, an engineer, draftsman and designer at Schweiss Doors. “This appealing design was a challenge because we have never done this type of concept in the past.”

Nick Winton of Ahmahiam Winton (AW) architects says, “The doors were big enough with very robust frames, that’s why we chose Schweiss. We wanted to use a lightweight cladding material that was inexpensive and handled daylight well. Polycarbonate at night lets the light shine through quite well, but in the daytime, the inverse is true, providing great light inside. It looks fabulous and everyone was happy with that decision.”

The doors stand out and are a visible part of the renovation.

“Translucent polycarbonate cladding was selected for the door for a number of reasons,” Taubenberger says. “Since the building is only 50 feet wide by 300 feet long and the two short ends were the only opportunity to bring daylight into the space other than skylights, a material that would allow these ends to be as luminous as possible. The architects also wanted a material that resonated with the industrial nature of the shipyard. The translucent polycarbonate allowed us to completely cover each end of the building with light diffusing panels. During the day, the effect is deep penetration of diffuse daylight into the space. In the evening, the building glows, distinguishing it from the adjacent industrial metal clad buildings. AW worked closely with their partners at Extech Exterior Technologies and with Schweiss Doors to detail a seamless look with the polycarbonate on both the wall and large door openings.”

Winton says they previously had used that application on a smaller bifold door project.

“We liked it for a few reasons,” he says. “It allowed us to hinge the door in the middle of the wall to give a maximum opening. It also creates the illusion that the opening underneath was smaller and my favorite thing is that when the door is open, it creates a nice canopy effect. The gallery normally leaves the door open enough (about 8 feet) during the day so that it aligns with the bottom rail of the door lining up with a conventional man door. It can be raised much higher than that, but that’s generally where they like to park them.”

They wanted big doors that could give the double duty of ventilation and to bring large art displays in. They also wanted to be able to connect the interior space of the Watershed to the surrounding site, making it more a part of the shipyard that it is in.

“We worked with other industrial door manufacturers and we found one in the past difficult to work with,” Winton says. “We were really pleased when we started working with Schweiss, how their collaborative, can-do experience, was for us. We liked the people there, the process and the outcome. We felt confident this would be an easy project for Schweiss. There was no drama, we don’t like drama.”

The Watershed is a raw, industrial space for art unlike any other in Boston. In addition to the flexible space for exhibits, programming, video wall and workshops, the Watershed will house an orientation gallery introducing visitors to the historic shipyard, complemented by a waterside plaza that will serve as a gathering place with stunning harbor views, once the site of the historic Boston Tea Party.

Most of the Watershed’s derelict predecessor was taken out, but they also preserved some of its iconic elements, such as the crane, monorail hoists and railroad tracks.

“We liked how visible the door mechanics are,” Winton says. “That’s part of that whole industrial Watershed space. We didn’t want to conceal anything. We wanted the motors, straps and mechanisms to show. There’s a lot of engineering behind the doorframes and lift structure. I like the straps better than cables. From what I understand, they are synchronized and controlled.”

Stack + Company of Boston was the general contractor assigned to gutting out the building and remodeling, which took seven months. Project manager Casey Wilcox of Stack + Company said he was really impressed with the bifold doors. He says they wanted large doors to create an open-air feel to the gallery because it’s right on the waterfront with a great view right across the harbor from Boston.

“Schweiss doors are really unique,” Wilcox says. “Normally we see traditional rolling overhear doors. They are zero clearance, which I can see would be very impractical. The liftstraps are great and the doors are very heavy-duty, work well, are very quiet and open very fast. The larger door was installed at the rear of the building. We closely supervised the installation. The art gallery was ecstatic, they love the doors.”

Taugenberger says AW did consider several door styles during design, including large sliding panels, single panel upward acting doors and traditional overhead doors. It was AW that discovered Schweiss Doors through the company’s long-standing relationship with Extech Exterior Technologies, the supplier/installer of the polycarbonate cladding and skylights for the project.

“We are thrilled with the Schweiss bifold doors,” Taubenberger says. “Ultimately, the bifold door worked best to achieve AW’s design intention. The architects really liked that the bifold doors did not impede any of the interior space and were able to accommodate the large opening they had designed.

The doors are intended to be open during regular hours for visitors to use and to bring in larger than usual art displays, as well as a welcoming gesture — a big open door to the community.

“Working with Brent at Schweiss Doors was really great,” Wilcox says. “He helped us coordinate the shop drawings between the polycarbonate vendor and steel erector. He was always available for a conference call, which was very helpful. The doors arrived on time and in good condition.”

At the Watershed, the ICA will welcome visitors to experience immersive artworks by artists engaged with the issues of our times. The new facility is a central component of ICA’s recently completed five-year strategic plan. The Watershed will be open during the warm months of the year and will become a site for the type of large-scale solo presentations.

The Watershed has a back room called The Harbor Room, a designated gathering space, with sets of chairs and family friendly books on loan from the Boston Public Library. The room opens to an outdoor patio with a view of Boston Harbor.

“Each year, the ICA plans to commission a single artist on a new, site-specific project,” Taubenberger says. “The intention for the space is to create a unique immersive environment by artists who engage with social and political issues relevant to our times as well as issues specific to the site, waterfront and community.”