Archinect - News

Thomas Phifer-designed Glenstone expansion to open in October with impressive lineup

2018-07-20T19:57:00-04:00

The Pavilions, designed by Thomas Phifer of Thomas Phifer and Partners, is a 204,000-square-foot building providing 50,000 square feet of indoor exhibition space. That is more than five times the space available in Glenstone’s original building, designed by Charles Gwathmey (and currently installed with an impressive Louise Bourgeois exhibition, drawn from the collection).

The new 'The Pavilions' space by Thomas Phifer and Partners (with landscapes designed by Peter Walker and Partners) is scheduled to open on October 4 and will showcase pieces by big name artists like Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Richard Serra, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Photo: Iwan Baan/Glenstone Museum.

"Incorporated seamlessly into Glenstone’s 230-acre landscape, the Pavilions comprises 11 distinct rooms installed with artworks drawn exclusively from the museum’s collection, grouped around a lushly planted, 18,000-square-foot Water Court," explains the museum's announcement.

"At the time of the opening, the building will feature a number of spaces dedicated to single-artist installations, including major works by Michael Heizer, Roni Horn, On Kawara, Brice Marden, Lygia Pape, Charles Ray, and Cy Twombly, among others. In addition, a presentation of 65 works by 52 artists will occupy the largest room in the Pavilions, a column-free space of 9,000 square feet. The exhibi...

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Rales

2013-04-29T11:48:00-04:00

Before Mr. Phifer, the architect, began designing the new building, he used a stack of about 80 flash cards or “inspiration boards,” as he called them, to get a sense of the Rales’s tastes and vision. There were pictures of Shaker villages and ancient art, rock gardens and a floor sculpture by Carl Andre.

Carol Vogel visited Glenstone, home of the semi-public, art collection of Mitchell and Emily Rales in Potomac, Md. Currently housed in a sleek 25,000-square-foot museum by Charles Gwathmey, the owners have plans for a major expansion designed by Tom Phifer. As proposed the project consists of a series of interconnecting pavilions for permanent installations, each devoted to a single artist, as well as a large gallery for special exhibitions.

Architect Acquires Majority Share of Gwathmey Siegel

2011-06-06T18:35:45-04:00

Ever since Charles Gwathmey died in 2009 people in the architecture world have wondered what would become of his partner, Robert Siegel, and the firm they founded in 1968, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. Now the answer is clear: the architect Gene Kaufman has acquired a majority share and the firm will become Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates.