Archinect - News

UNESCO survey verifies 341 damaged cultural sites across Ukraine

2024-02-15T17:35:00-05:00

UNESCO has verified nearly 30 dozen damaged cultural sites across Ukraine in a new survey meant to shed light on the extent to which the cost of war has left an impact on the nation’s spiritual landscape and intellectual heritage over the past two full years.

Kharkiv and Donetsk led the list of regions with the most damaged sites, totaling 56 and 87, respectively. The list counts a total of 341 sites, another 39 of which are in the Kyiv capital region. UNESCO officials compiled their tally from a number of on-the-ground sources. This is apparently meant to be a preliminary damage assessment that will hereafter be updated on a regular basis once the process for reporting is established.

The new survey counted 126 religious sites, 150 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 31 museums, 19 monuments, 14 libraries, and one archive. Among the most significant damaged sites are the National Palace of Arts in Kyiv and many buildings in the endangered historic city center of Ode...

UK museums report new Raac concrete investigations as safety concerns spread

2023-11-09T14:01:00-05:00

The issue of unsafe concrete panels in the aging structures in the UK is affecting museums and cultural institutions who now report conducting their own building safety investigations after a spate of school closures linked to the issue first stirred controversy in August.

A report compiled by The Art Newspaper details efforts on the part of the Southbank Centre, Royal Academy of Arts, and others to document and deinstall reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (or Raac) panels that have been proven to be susceptible to water damage and structural failures.

No use of the materials had been discovered in the Barbican Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, or newly renovated National Galleries Scotland, all four institutions independently confirmed.

Twentieth Century Society Director Catherine Croft told the publication: “There is an urgent need to understand where Raac was used, to examine whether or not it is now failing in each case, and then work out how best to repa...

China unveils ambitious plan to construct 245 new museums in Beijing by 2035

2023-02-24T16:42:00-05:00

China is pushing forward a draft development plan to construct some 245 new museums in its capital by the year 2035, according to reports coming out of Beijing last weekend.

The plan from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau calls for there to be a total of 460 museums by the end of the building frenzy, enough, it says, for two per every 100,000 inhabitants in the city of 21.5 million.

The push comes in anticipation of Beijng’s expected tourism influx. Recent research from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) suggested that it could soon overtake Paris as the world’s most frequented tourist destination, with a projected annual value eventually topping out at $77 billion. Museums, therefore, make up the core component of this effort, with a special focus on those promoting Chinese culture and history in line with the Communist party’s nationalist agenda.

Getty Trust releases $1 million to help Ukraine's fight to preserve its cultural heritage

2022-11-09T16:50:00-05:00

A new $1 million grant from the J. Paul Getty Trust is being advanced to the International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH) to ensure the protection of vulnerable cultural sites across Ukraine that have come under fire since the Russian Federation’s illegal invasion began in February.

The new round of funding helps support the existing Ukrainian Action Plan, which has so far allocated some $3 million towards similar projects in the country under threat from the war and impending winter chill.

UNESCO has thus far identified some 204 cultural sites (up from June’s figure of 139) that have suffered some amount of damage due to conflict. The monies will therefore be spent towards implementing climate-controlled storage methods and improving security measures at museums and other cultural institutions, deployment of “preventive conservation methods”, and preparation of stabilization methods for sites that could come under fire in the future.

Related on A...

Obama Presidential Center Director, Louise Bernard, discusses the site's progress

2022-06-22T11:51:00-04:00

The construction will take place holistically at once. Except for our athletic facility, whose timeline is little bit later. And there is all the landscaping work that will commence once the construction is further along. The vision of what the center will be is firmly understood. The drawings are complete and ready to be executed upon. The concrete work will be the next phase. People will begin to see the construction coming out of the ground beginning in the summer.

Bernard told ARTnews she wants the 19-acre TWBTA-designed library and parks complex to “serve as an example” for other developments in the city. The Director also described the museum's four-floor gallery layout, which is topped by a "Sky Room" feature in addition to a 5,000-square-foot special exhibits gallery located on the building's lowest level. When discussing the space she shared, "we will delve into topics that we only touch upon in the core exhibit.”

The museum will also include a replica of the oval office, and core galleries consisting of mostly donated objects filtered through the focal point of the historic 2008 Presidential election, with the curatorial direction being “not just to be about him but about the people who made his presidency possible.”

Australia allocates $228 million towards new Indigenous cultural center in Canberra

2022-02-07T12:15:00-05:00

A new Indigenous cultural precinct where repatriated ancestral remains will be cared for, and where Indigenous Australia’s history will be unfurled through a large but little-known collection, is set to become a reality in four years on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and the minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt made the joint announcement on January 4th. The precinct, named Ngurra, which means home, will receive $228 million from the federal government for its construction. A national architecture competition for its design is set to be launched this month.

Sitting in the heart of Australia’s capital, Ngurra will house a National Resting Place for Indigenous remains that have been repatriated from overseas collections, and it will serve as the new home for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). While there have been decades-long calls for a National Resting Place, reactions to Ngurra have been mixed, with critics believing money would be better spent alleviating the poverty that Indigenous communities face.

The Black Reconstruction Collective, dedicated to supporting Black creatives, is currently searching for a Collaborative Coordinator

2022-01-25T15:10:00-05:00

In 2019, ten architects, artists, designers, and academics came together to discuss their plans for an upcoming exhibition with MoMA's curatorial team. Emanuel Admassu, Germane Barnes, Sekou Cooke, J. Yolande Daniels, Felecia Davis, Mario Gooden, Walter J. Hood, Olalekan Jeyifous, V. Mitch McEwen, and Amanda Williams gathered to discuss what their involvement and exhibition would be and represent. These conversations and exchanges of thoughts and opinions helped birth the Black Reconstruction Collective (BRC).

Founded in 2020, the BRC has gone on to develop groundbreaking work like the MoMA exhibition Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America, as well as receiving grants from the Graham Foundation, Open Society, and the Mellon Foundation.

At their core, the group's primary mission "to multi-scalar and multi-disciplinary work" is dedicated to dismantling "systemic white supremacy and hegemonic whiteness within art, design, and academia." The founding members exercised ...

The Louvre's attendance in 2021 dropped to 1986 levels

2022-01-07T16:55:00-05:00

The Musée du Louvre welcomed only 2.8 million visitors last year, less than 30% of its pre-Covid record levels when it received around ten million. The Louvre has not seen such low figures since 1986, before the opening of the glass pyramid and the Grand Louvre project which steadily boosted attendance over the past four decades.

This level of attendance is nearly the same as the previous year, however French museums were closed for one month less in 2021 than in 2020. According to an official source at the culture ministry, general attendance at French museums dropped by 60-70% for the second year compared to pre-covid levels. The current omicron surge stifles hope for a comeback in museum attendance in 2022.

This comes as museums across Europe, specifically those in Denmark, the Netherlands, and London, have closed due to new covid lockdown measures in response to omicron.

Previously on Archinect: Museums are closing across Europe as Omicron variant rapidly spreads

Museums are closing across Europe as Omicron variant rapidly spreads

2021-12-20T19:50:00-05:00

Museums in Denmark and the Netherlands will close as part of new coronavirus lockdown measures being imposed in both countries in reaction to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the disease. The announcements have been met with resignation and disappointment as it will mean further strain on the already stretched museum sector after nearly two years of sporadic closures and reduced capacity.

In London, the Natural History Museum is closed until December 27th due to staffing shortages caused by Covid. The Wellcome Collection and the Foundling Museum in London have also decided to shut down amid the surge. These closures come without the UK government declaring any mandates for these institutions to close their doors. On the other hand, national mandates in both the Netherlands and Denmark have closed all non-essential establishments and public venues until mid-January.

In the US, with New York City reporting record numbers of daily Covid cases, no major institutions have closed. As it stands, another shutdown is out of the equation.

Renderings are unveiled for what will become the world's northernmost contemporary art museum

2021-07-14T19:19:00-04:00

A former mall in central Russia is being converted into a museum as part of a larger $2 billion development project that will give the isolated Siberian city of Norilsk what could potentially be the northernmost contemporary arts facility in the world.

Images have been unveiled for the new Arctic Museum of Modern Art (AMMA), a new $40 million institution that will give new life to a defunct mall thanks to a city-wide cultural renewal initiative funded by a local nickel-producing magnate.

Russian architect Ilya Mukosey is behind the 8,500 square meter design meant as a new home for the collection of mostly regional art put together by Nornickel. The new museum will feature added exhibitions spaces, open storage, and a new above-ground entrance not common to the closed Arctic city. Mukosey is the creative director of a Russian-language online magazine Artplay Today and has his own practice founded in Moscow in 2019.

AMMA will be joined by another museum called MAMA as well as existi...

RAMSA is tapped for the New-York Historical Society's American LGBTQ+ Museum expansion

2021-07-02T20:13:00-04:00

Images of a regal new expansion effort at the New-York Historical Society have been released, showcasing the addition of the new American LGBTQ+ Museum to the 216-year-old institution’s Central Park campus.

The Historical Society has chosen RAMSA to lead the $140 million expansion effort, adding space for the new entity, which was granted a museum charter just two short years ago after being established by activists in 2017.

With nearly 70,000 square feet of new space, the museum comes along with new galleries for the Historical Society and added classroom space for the institution’s ongoing academic partnerships with CUNY and the public school system. A new storage area will also allow the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library to house its collection completely onsite for the first time.

An adjacent 10,000-square-foot vacant lot owned by the Historical Society since 1937 will host the expansion. The new museum will be hosted on the fourth floor of the expanded space featuring two galle...

Tulsa's Gilcrease Museum unveils upcoming expansion plans that will connect visitors to the natural world

2021-06-24T19:18:00-04:00

The Gilcrease Museum has unveiled designs for an expansion of the 72-year-old Tulsa institution as part of a redevelopment plan meant to give its 350 years of collected history an upgraded 21st-century relevance.

The plan will add improved exhibition space for the city-owned museum founded by collector Thomas Gilcrease, a member of the Muscogee tribe who amassed a fortune in Oklahoma's early oil boom.

Aerial view overlooking the new Gilcrease Museum toward downtown Tulsa. Courtesy of Gallagher & Associates and Gilcrease Museum

“We need a space that provides a visitor experience to match the strength of the collection” explained Gilcrease Executive Director Susan Neal.

The soon-to-be razed museum holds a number of Indigenous artifacts and boasts the world’s largest collection of art of the American West in addition to a collection of over 100,000 manuscripts, photographs, and rare books housed by the Helmerich Center for American Research.

SmithGroup is responsible for the design th...

“We don’t ever want it to be finished” - Museum of Making opens at Derby's UNESCO site

2021-06-07T13:22:00-04:00

A new museum in England has given new life to a 300-year-old factory building after an £18 million capital campaign.

The aptly named Museum of Making is now open and operational inside a repurposed former factory space at the Derwent Valley Mills, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.

MoM Exterior 5 – Credit Derby Museums & Art Lewry, Culture Communications Collective

Leeds-based Bauman Lyons has partnered with Derby Museums since 2011 to spearhead a redesign of the historic mill using an innovative hands-on approach that meant working with community members to collaborate on a model for what eventually became the first DIY museum in the country.

A 2015 ground floor refurbishment left an open space for volunteers to "fit-out" with the help of makers-in-residence, which led to an expanded effort the firm credited to the "maker" movement.

The Gateway at the Museum of Making - Speller Metcalfe-Derby Museums

The Museum, now a Grade II Listed Building, is unique bot...

INVI flexes its (digital) design muscle with the new South Plains Museum and Cultural Center

2021-05-20T15:27:00-04:00

A new online home for the erstwhile Southern Apache Museum is now operating in Houston, furthering a trend of digitizing cultural spaces that has accelerated during the pandemic era.

Those looking for a transformative delve into the history of Native culture can visit the renamed Southern Plains Museum and Cultural Center (SPMCC) latest iteration, which opened last November with the help of a $10,000 grant from the city's Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

The new virtual museum has space for a number of different smaller specialIzed museums addressing a number of categories related to the history of Native Americans in the region, including the original institution as well as an American Indian Genocide Museum. It also features a virtual library, garden, Aztec pyramid, and health clinic.

A virtual tour of the museum via YouTube

Virtual architecture firm INVI, which touts itself as creating “virtual experiences through architecture, storytelling, and design,” according to the studi...

Three museums in the LA County announce plans to open doors to the public

2021-03-19T20:55:00-04:00

Museums have lain dormant while pandemic restrictions aimed to keep the spread of COVID-19 low. However, with vaccine rollouts and cities entering new tier levels, museums are preparing to welcome back visitors in-person. On March 10th, the completion of Renzo Piano's long-awaited Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced it would open its doors this Fall. KCRW reported earlier this week that three more LA-county museums have plans to re-open their doors.

Hammer Museum. Image © Tony Hisgett via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

"With dwindling coronavirus numbers, LA has entered the red tier and allowed museums to open at 25% capacity," shared Steve Chiotakis during his Greater L.A. Podcast. LACMA announced it would open its doors on April 1, with safety protocols in place. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) has opened their doors and welcomes visitors by appointment. The Hammer Museum also announced its plans to open mid-April.

LACMA will be reopening on April 1, with Membe...

More Than 'Insensitive': The architecture community responds to the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields' job post

2021-02-18T17:40:00-05:00

On February 13, 2021, the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields posted a job listing searching for a new director. While their goal was to find potential applicants for hire, what resulted was another glimpse of marginalization within the hiring process. What made this job description so volatile was their search for an individual who would help maintain "the Museum's traditional, core, white audience." I first learned of this news while scrolling through my Twitter feed and seeing a tweet made by long-time Archinector and Archinect Sessions podcast co-host Donna Sink.

Donna provided a screenshot of the listing and followed up with an updated image of the job post with "corrections" made by the museum a few hours after her tweet was posted. Sure, edits were made, but the damage was already done. Seeing a job description like this was disappointing and stomach-turning, to say the least, but does it shock me? Not entirely.

9am Saturday 13 February 2021 Newfields is still actively s...

Architectural historian and curator Irene Sunwoo joins Art Institute of Chicago as new Architecture and Design Chair

2021-02-15T20:19:00-05:00

Art Institute of Chicago names Irene Sunwoo the John H. Bryan Chair and Curator, Architecture and Design. Sunwoo's extensive background in architectural history, exhibition, and curatorial studies create an exciting chapter for the Institute and its leadership.

Sunwoo served as Curator of Columbia GSAPP's Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery and Director of Exhibitions since 2016 and curator of the Ross Gallery. Her writing has been featured in the Avery Review, Getty Research Journal, to name a few. She is in the process of writing two books focusing on Alvin Boyarsky and Arakawa and Madeline Gins' architectural experiments. Well-versed and heavily invested in Chicago's architectural history and curatorial community, Sunwoo served as Associate Curator and a key team member for the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial launch in 2015.

Sunwoo completed her undergraduate studies at New York University in Art History. She also holds two MAs from Bard College in History of Decorative Art...

SCI-Arc, UCLA, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and ArtCenter among recipients of the Pacific Standard Time 2040 grant awards

2021-02-01T16:39:00-05:00

In collaboration with the Getty, Pacific Standard Time (PST) recognizes exhibitions and programs that highlight topics relating to culture, education, visual arts, and science. In its third regional collaboration, the Getty's Pacific Standard Time series thematic overview includes sustainability and environmental justice, indigenous knowledge, technology and futurism, the science and technology of architecture, and more.

Forty-five institutions have been awarded funding totaling $5million. Hammer Museum director Ann Philbin discusses the role art and science will play during this iteration of PST in the following press statement. "We're eager to break that pattern with this new edition of Pacific Standard Time as we collectively explore nothing less than two fundamental modes of understanding the world and the powerful and surprising ways they connect."

Tavares Strachan, Six Thousand Years, 2018. UV ink, pigment, enamel, vinyl,graphite, mylar, spray paint, collage, oil stick, sint...

Virtual museums may not be the answer for post-pandemic success

2020-09-21T14:59:00-04:00

Creating an entirely virtual museum is already one approach for the future, but it’s a slippery slope. Museums might be enticed by the idea of having their entire collections online in order to avoid the possible transmission of disease, but then what happens to the buildings...With everything online, a museum building would morph into something that’s more or less just storage.

With self-quarantining, social distancing, and the closure of businesses and public venues, what happens to institutions like museums and their relationship with the public? While exhibitions can be seen online, does that solution defeat the purpose of a museum itself?

According to Smithsonian Magazine writer Jennifer Billock, "how will people experience museums 10 or 20 years down the road, when proactive design changes to curb the spread of disease have been put in place?" Museum closures and online exhibitions have been an answer for some while others plan to reopen in order to revive the museum experience.

Archinect's previous coverage on museums as they respond to COVID. Photo: Wikimedia Commons user BRENAC/CC-BY-SA-3.0.

Architect Bea Spolidoro, principal of FisherARCHitecture, shares with Billock that new design solutions should not "substitute the true experience." In addition to in-person experiential loss, Spolidoro expresses that maintenance costs are another factor to kee...

LA's A+D Museum to close physical location and go virtual

2020-06-18T14:12:00-04:00

The Architecture and Design Museum in Los Angeles (A+D) has announced an institutional restructuring initiative as well as a transformation focus on digital and traveling exhibitions and programming in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement published by the museum, Executive Director Anthony Morey and Deputy Director Leila Wahba write, “A+D Museum’s mission to be a platform and space of engagement for our architects, designers, creatives, and audience must shift with the needs of our community. As a team we have heard the response to societal shifts and as a family we recognize the opportunity to transform ourselves in response to this place in time."

The museum leaders add, "We are thrilled to evolve, to become a more dynamic expression of our mission and our supporter’s needs. By transitioning to a hybridized platform structure, we release ourselves from a solitary physical presence and embrace a more expansive presence, a long discussed goal of our Beyond Walls Strate...

The Museum of Ice Cream will have a permanent location in New York City

2019-08-21T18:58:00-04:00

“Our community asked for it,” says Maryellis Bunn, co-creator and CEO of the Museum of Ice Cream. “They wanted a place where they can go to, not once, but to continue to come and visit us. When we have these pop-up models, we’re not able to hold space for our community. So to be able to give them a place, not just programmatically, but also to have it be a place that’s theirs is so important to us.” The new New York flagship location will be in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood.

The Museum of Ice Cream (MIC) started s a pop-up experience in New York and Los Angeles, but now it has finally acquired its first permanent location. The organization has also expanded into retail, with a branded collection in Target, a makeup collaboration with Sephora, and their own ice cream.

“Our ambition has always been to create spaces that can connect humans to humans, and humans to architecture. Our journey to get there has been to create, understand, and then recreate,” said the company's CEO, in a Fast Company article.

The future looks bright for the MIC team. The new NYC location "will span nearly 25,000 square feet across three floors with 13 new installations."

See inside the Statue of Liberty’s new museum ahead of this week’s opening

2019-05-14T12:56:00-04:00

The Statue of Liberty is a universally recognized structure and symbol. But do most people know the story of its creation? Opening this Thursday, the new Statue of Liberty Museum aims to educate visitors about the history and legacy of the statue through immersive gallery spaces and artifacts. During a press preview last week, 6sqft toured the 26,000-square-foot museum and its landscaped roof, located on Liberty Island across from Lady Liberty herself.

All photos by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.

David Adjaye's red concrete art museum, Ruby City, to open in San Antonio in October

2019-04-02T15:06:00-04:00

David Adjaye's ruby-red art museum in San Antonio, Texas is set to open to the public in October 2019. It is the Ghanian-British architect's first project in Texas. Famous for his behemoth buildings, Ruby City—which is described by Adjaye himself as a "very shy building"—offers a quiet stop in between his career-defining National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC and his next two projects, the U.K Holocaust Memorial and the National Cathedral of Ghana.

Nevertheless, the blushed building offers itself as a crown jewel to a Texan city looking to reactive itself after decades of sprawl. The art museum is designed with this urban future in mind and will be part of a growing campus, the brainchild of philanthropist and heiress to the Pace Foods fortune Linda Pace, whose meditation garden, Chris Park, and exhibitio...

Zena Howard: Architecture's powerhouse strategist and advocate for diversity

2019-02-12T15:58:00-05:00

There are little more than 400 African American female architects in a profession of over 110,000. Although an improvement over the roughly 90 that existed when I entered the profession, the current numbers continue to reflect the obvious dearth of women like me. [...] My primary advice to young people is to seek mentorship as early as possible. Take advantage of many architects like myself who are willing to expose you to our studios, our staff, our work, and our own experiences.

If you're unaware of her name, you know of her work. Zena Howard's contributions to the architecture profession are rooted in design strategy and advocacy. With over 25 years of experience, the seasoned architect has worked on several notable projects. As Principal and Managing Director of Perkins+Will's North Carolina practice, her work is a reflection of her passion as an architect, mentor, team builder, and strategist. Several of Howard's projects focuses on public and private institutions, museums, and other educational typologies.

Earning her Bachelor of Science degree in architecture from the University of Virginia, Howard's expertise revolves around creating and leading design projects in sustainability, inclusive design, and historical and cultural buildings. Her background in LEED certification projects allows her to drive projects that no...

Sam Jacob Studio to design the Cartoon Museum's new London home

2018-07-06T14:40:00-04:00

Sam Jacob Studio has been commissioned to design the new home of Britain’s Cartoon Museum. Known for their avant-garde approach to design, the studio will help the museum expand its programming and bring a "real sense of fun and vibrancy to the visitor experience," says museum chair, Oliver Preston.

Founded in 2006 by a dedicated cadre of cartoonists, comic artists and collectors, the Museum has been operating out of an old London dairy. But, wanting a new permanent home that will help it develop to its full potential, the museum has accepted a 25-year lease at 55 Wells Street, located near Oxford Circus.

Their archive holds over 5,000 books, 4,000 comics and 1,700 original strips, graphic novels, animation and caricatures, ranging from the 18th century to the present day. Scheduled to open early 2019, the new space will create permanent and temporary exhibition spaces to give the Museum greater flexibility in displaying its...

Inside Frank Gehry and Thomas Krens' hybrid Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum

2018-02-20T14:25:00-05:00

Picture the World Trade Center near the Empire State Building near Fenway Park near London's Tate Modern. Now picture trains zipping past the architectural icons. That is the vision world-famous architect Frank Gehry and museum developer Thomas Krens are trying to bring to North Adams, in the form of the Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum.

With the aim of developing North Adams, Massachusetts as a cultural destination, Frank Gehry and Thomas Krens released plans last summer for their hybrid Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum. The initial concept has now developed into an entire model showcasing more of what the museum will look like.

The model museum features 164 buildings showcasing contemporary architecture by 71 international architects. Interwoven amongst these building 12 rail lines will run 107 operating model trains.

The proposed museum houses this entire set up in one 670-foot-long gallery stretching the length of 2.5 football fields. Buildings will be constructed at a 1:48 scale including iconic structures such as the Seagram Building in Manhattan or the Brooklyn Bridge. The tallest building, the One World Trade Center, will reach 40 feet tall.

The trains and buildings will also be surrounded by video-projected landscaping blending the physical models into a seamless background. The...

Anthony Morey named Executive Director and Curator at Los Angeles' a+d museum

2018-02-07T18:44:00-05:00

Anthony Morey, who many here on Archinect will recognize as Archinect's editor-at-large, starting editorial columns such as Cross-Talk, Fellow Fellows and From the Ground Up, has been just announced as the a+d museum's new Executive Director and Curator.

Prior to this announcement, Anthony served as the Assistant Director & Curator under the direction of Dora Epstein Jones. In addition to his roles at the a+d and Archinect, Anthony is a discussion moderator at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Design Studio Faculty at USC in Los Angeles. His work and research focus on the tensions between text, psychology and image and their relationship to architecture and design.

The diversity and trajectories of architecture and design are at an all-time high and as important as ever, if not more and the role of the museum - our museum - is to produce a platform to present and promote progressive architecture and design equal to the rigor, enthusiasm, and diversity that exists wit...

Cooper Robertson tapped as executive architect for New Museum expansion

2018-01-25T18:36:00-05:00

Last year, the New Museum announced that Rem Koolhaas and Shoehei Shigematsu would be heading the institution's expansion that will nearly double their footprint in New York. The contemporary art museum has been situated at 235 Bowery in a building designed by the Japanese firm SANAA since 2007.

Shortly thereafter, the museum bought a neighboring six-story masonry building that has since housed their incubator programs. As part of the expansion, the museum plans to connect the two, adjacent structures while overhauling 251 Bowery for an additional 50,000 square feet of galleries, improved public circulation, and flexible space for the institution’s experimental programs.

In collaboration with the design architects at OMA New York, Cooper Robertson has been selected as the executive architects for the expansion. Spearheaded by partner Scott Newman, FAIA, and senior associate Andrew Barwick, RA, this commission is the latest in a long line of notable museum projects by the firm, whos...

“The Guardian Art Center is a lot more than just a museum”: Büro Ole Scheeren completes Guardian Art Center in Beijing

2018-01-24T15:19:00-05:00

“The Guardian Art Center is a lot more than just a museum,” says Ole Scheeren, principal of the eponymous Beijing practice Büro Ole Scheeren. The german architect has just completed a major project in the heart of Beijing: the Guardian Art Center, a custom-built auction house complete with museum quality galleries and state of the art conservation facilities as well as restaurants, a hotel, flexible event spaces, and integrated public transport infrastructure.

Photo by Iwan Baan.

“It’s not a hermetic institution, but rather an acknowledgement of the hybrid state of contemporary culture. It is a Chinese puzzle of interlocking cultural spaces and public functions that fuse art and culture with events and lifestyle” says Sheeren. Built near the Forbidden City and the National Art Museum of China, the Guradian Art Center is a new hybrid cultural institution that balances between the traditional and the contemporary, a concept that is growing more prominent as China undergoes major urban ...

De-Trumping: Museums Today

2018-01-16T15:17:00-05:00

This is demanding and important work that we have done for 138 years, and continue to do with pride and gratitude, each and every day at the Art Institute of Chicago. We need museums, not just “now more than ever”—but always.

The traditional and agreed upon purpose of modern museums is to collect, preserve, interpret, and display items of artistic, cultural, or scientific significance for the education of the public. What then, is the role of the museum in today's cultural and political climate? What are they to present concerning where we are today and who is their public?
How are museums to position themselves and even further, should they?

Museums have historically and commonly aligned with missions that are congruent with the prevailing values of a civilized society, their ethics, and morals and customarily supported by the leaders of the society they pertain to. With our current leader presenting lackluster respect the primacy of facts and logic; the museum's role of fostering respect for the broad spectrum of human culture and humanity as a whole has never been more re-affirmed.