Palmer Art Museum visitors will see a different kind of show -- involving fences, tools and construction workers -- from late March until winter of 1993.

Asbestos removal, which will begin in March, will kick off a $5.6 million addition to the museum, said Museum Director Kahren Arbitman.

Also in the addition plans are nine art galleries, a 150-seat auditorium, a two-story lobby, an expanded museum store and a courtyard area facing south, Arbitman added.

The addition's architect, Charles Moore, has won more than 25 national awards for his designs, and Feb. 6 he will receive the 49th Annual Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects. The award is regarded as the top honor for an architect.

People who use University buildings usually have no input in the selection of an architect for additions or renovations, said Sally Atwood, the College of Arts and Architecture's coordinator of public information.

But because private contributions are funding the museum addition, the University's Board of Trustees asked those involved with planning the project to recommend three architects, Atwood said. Moore, who teaches at the University of Texas, was among those recommended, she said.

"I think the fact that Moore has been recognized by his peers and designed this building is extremely exciting," Atwood said. "We are confident that it will get a lot of national and international attention because of Moore."

Arbitman agreed.

"It's appropriate that the art museum will be the first signature building on campus designed by an internationally known architect," she said. "There has been an attempt to reflect the high architectural quality of buildings up on this end of campus."

Arbitman said the design includes a south-facing entrance with high arches and low steps comfortable to sit on.

"We hope that it will become a place for the students to gather on nice days -- just like the steps of Pattee or the HUB lawn," Arbitman said.

The addition will double the museum's size and provide "a distinctive but comfortable building with an encyclopedic view of art from ancient to modern times," Arbitman said.

She added the museum will now be able to display its own permanent collection including works from the ancient, Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary periods and American pieces, instead of displaying temporary exhibitions.

"It will be a real museum. One where you know that the paintings on display are owned by the museum and you can go back to look at them again and again," Atwood said.

The display will help increase the museum's permanent collection, Atwood said.

During construction the museum will remain open as much as possible, Arbitman said. A large display of works from the permanent collection will be displayed on the museum's second floor during construction, she said.