If you’re curious about what the new Bainbridge Art Museum at the corner of State Route 305 and Winslow Way will look like, join the club.

Architect Matthew Coates has created 10 “three-dimensional sketches” based on input he’s received from the nonprofit museum’s board of directors.

He went public with them Monday night at BPA, asking the community for input and feedback about the designs. About 150 packed the lobby where the models were displayed on tall pedestals throughout the room, and about 100 response cards were collected.

“Architecture is one of those things where few of us have formal training, but all of us have strong opinions,” said John Baker, president of the museum’s board.

“It’s a pivotal corner,” said artist David Lewis, board co-vice president. “We feel a great responsibility, for the tens of thousands of people who will see it as they come off the ferry, and for the community,” he said.

That pivotal corner, and the Island Gateway project, have come under fire over the last six months on any number of fronts: the setback issue, the right-of-way issue, criticisms over a perceived lack of opportunity for public input.

If there is one mantra from board members now, it is the desire to have the community’s participation early in the building’s design.

“We seriously want people’s input,” Lewis said.

That sentiment was repeated by interim Executive Director Cheryl Dale.

“We think of this as a community asset,” she said. “And we want to know what the community thinks.”

Dale, who was encouraged by the strong turnout at Monday’s two-hour open house, estimated the evening’s crowd at about 200 people – all peering, leaning, squinting and comparing the different designs.

For those who missed the event, all 10 concept models will be on display from 6-8 p.m. May 7 during Art Walk at the Discovery Center, the building at the corner of SR-305 and Winslow Way where the museum will be sited. Comments and feedback are welcomed there as well.

After the Art Walk open house, Coates will synthesize the comments and integrate as many of the comments as possible, he said.

Since last fall, the board has sought input from the community through four focus groups of about 30 people each, Lewis said. He and Steve Davies comprise the facilities committee on the 15-member board. Input from those focus groups shaped the scope of the project to include an educational element.

It was this input and “functional changes to the interior” that was a catalyst for reworking the original concepts.

“We want to remind people that what they’ve seen so far was just a placeholder,” Coates said Tuesday in his office. “It would be highly unusual to have a finished design before the board even existed.”

The 10 models, he said, are simply sketches, loose ideas of directions the design could go.

“It’s not a vote on a specific design. I’ll attempt a resolution of all thoughts and ideas and come up with a new direction,” he said.

The board of directors has the final say.

“We’ll keep working until we’re happy,” said Baker, who is hoping the board will be able to see a final design by the next board meeting in June.

Coates, who knew since he was a teen that he wanted to be an architect, enjoys the fluidity of the process, even in all its complexity.

“It is a huge privilege to work with the community,” he said.

He said he felt a sense of momentum growing for the project “based on the positive energy in the room Monday night,” he said.

Once the final design is complete and approved by the museum board, Coates will officially present it to the city’s Design Review Board.

“What is significant here, so unique is the opportunity for the community that enjoys participating, to be able to be here,” Council member Barry Peters said Monday. “This is a purely voluntary effort for the public to participate in the design.”

He said qualities the Design Review Board will be looking for include variety in the form, texture and height of the building.

Opinions varied about the designs themselves.

Use of natural light was common to many of the designs, as was a central hub that would link the different sections of the museum – exhibit space, gift shop, cafe, and classrooms – in the 5,000-square-foot space.

Coates said he was genuinely surprised at the number of comments that favored curved forms in the design. Recurring words on the response cards called for something interesting and inviting, he added.

Cynthia Sears, an arts patron a the board’s co-vice president, struggled to find just the right words for the tone she hopes the new museum will exude.

“We want something substantial, yet welcoming,” she said.

Council member Debbi Lester definitely liked the curved lines.

“The curve invites you in,” she said. “And the shape echoes a bit of our shipwright lineage.”

One design that received a lot of positive comments featured a butterfly roof with exposed wood structures and was most indicative of Northwest style.

Bill Luria, a former planning commissioner and board member of Sustainable Bainbridge, was curious to see the flavor of the final design.

“Matthew is into green building design and site planning. He is a very good designer.”