Well the de Young finally opened to the public and I just wanted to see what some of you thought - if you went (or have been previously).
I managed to circumvent the nasty line in the evening and after walking around for an hour or two, thought that it did indeed live up to the hype. The copper sheathing is fantastic and something that can only be appreciated up close. The knife-cut courtyards throughout were very beautiful as well and add nice surprises as you wander through the building. I didn't think that it was good idea to pitch the tent under the cantilevered end but there really wasn't any place else for it. And unfortunately I didn't manage to get into the tower before it closed at midnight, but definitely want to check out the nighttime vista.
There has been plenty of press in the bay area about this - which I think is fantastic for the architecture community. This city needed a jolt of modern architecture at this scale. Hopefully it will challenge many people's preconceived notions of what buildings should look like in San Francisco - and not scare others away from doing something different.
The galleries were a bit monochromatic but it did lend itself to a cave-like setting where you are surrounded by one material.
One area that I thought could have been explored a bit would have been with ceiling heights. In the main lobby area and in the galleries the ceilings are all the same height. It might have further enhanced the spaces if the ceiling sloped – exaggerating perspective and such.
I am planning on revisiting – this first trip was more for the atmosphere and seeing so many people there at once.
the line late saturday night was more like a rock concert than a building opening, it was incredible to see that kind of interest generated by a new building in this city -- totally unexpected.
Oct 22, 05 2:51 am ·
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HdM's de Young - the grand opening this past w/e
Well the de Young finally opened to the public and I just wanted to see what some of you thought - if you went (or have been previously).
I managed to circumvent the nasty line in the evening and after walking around for an hour or two, thought that it did indeed live up to the hype. The copper sheathing is fantastic and something that can only be appreciated up close. The knife-cut courtyards throughout were very beautiful as well and add nice surprises as you wander through the building. I didn't think that it was good idea to pitch the tent under the cantilevered end but there really wasn't any place else for it. And unfortunately I didn't manage to get into the tower before it closed at midnight, but definitely want to check out the nighttime vista.
There has been plenty of press in the bay area about this - which I think is fantastic for the architecture community. This city needed a jolt of modern architecture at this scale. Hopefully it will challenge many people's preconceived notions of what buildings should look like in San Francisco - and not scare others away from doing something different.
Share your thoughts, criticisms, etc.
Here are some images from the opening weekend as well (my apologies if the images don't work - I always have a hard time inserting links and such).
Photos courtesy of: Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection
Photos courtesy of: ">http://www.flickr.com/photos/red_devil/] SeenyaRita's photos
And here are some more night shots: [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/adawnphoto/sets/1150472/
]Baba Dawn's photos[/url]
Opps. Here’s those last two links.
Photos courtesy of: SeenyaRita's photos
And here are some more night shots: Baba Dawn's photos
What do you think of the gallery space? From the pictures the wood board finish seems to overwhelm the space.
Thanks for sharing the photos, they are really nice. I will go next week and see for myself.
The galleries were a bit monochromatic but it did lend itself to a cave-like setting where you are surrounded by one material.
One area that I thought could have been explored a bit would have been with ceiling heights. In the main lobby area and in the galleries the ceilings are all the same height. It might have further enhanced the spaces if the ceiling sloped – exaggerating perspective and such.
I am planning on revisiting – this first trip was more for the atmosphere and seeing so many people there at once.
the line late saturday night was more like a rock concert than a building opening, it was incredible to see that kind of interest generated by a new building in this city -- totally unexpected.
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