State of the Art: museums that show off
Scritto da Peter Smisek
20.02.18
The museum has traditionally enjoyed a privileged, almost sacrosanct status in the cultural landscape. When it comes to the design of a new one, the stakes are high – with its architecture as much on show as its contents.
Cape Town's new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is housed in a former 57-metre-high grain silo, dating from 1921. Photo: Iwan Baan
Cape Town's new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is housed in a former 57-metre-high grain silo, dating from 1921. Photo: Iwan Baan
×The internet may have revolutionised our access to information, but the best new museums are actually attracting growing crowds, as much for their exhibits as for their stunning architecture.
Zeitz MOCAA – short for Museum of Contemporary African Art – is a case in point. Situated in a former grain silo in Cape Town's port, this concrete colossus was once the tallest building in Sub-Saharan Africa. Leaving the commanding exterior almost intact, British designer Thomas Heatherwick has carved out a large elliptical void from among the densely packed concrete tubes, creating a captivating, unique space – not just for the public, but also for large-scale art installations.
Zeitz MOCAA is the first museum in Africa dedicated to the continent's contemporary art, as well as the focal point of a large waterfront redevelopment. Photos: Iwan Baan
Zeitz MOCAA is the first museum in Africa dedicated to the continent's contemporary art, as well as the focal point of a large waterfront redevelopment. Photos: Iwan Baan
×The newly opened Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech resembles an abstracted kasbah with richly patterned brick facade. It celebrates the work of the eponymous French fashion-design legend, who spent long periods of his professional life in the city and was enamoured with it. The bold volumes and occasional curving walls recall the couturier's own work, while the intricate sequence of the spaces inside resembles those of a typical, North African dwelling.
The Yves Saint Laurent Museum fuses local and European influences, while maintaining an attention to detail and tactile qualities in each of its spaces. Photos: Nicolas Mathéus
The Yves Saint Laurent Museum fuses local and European influences, while maintaining an attention to detail and tactile qualities in each of its spaces. Photos: Nicolas Mathéus
×Contemporary architects don't just design brand-new institutions. In France, London-based practice Stanton WiIliams have created a modern extension to the neo-classical Musée d'arts de Nantes by cleverly weaving exhibition spaces between the existing parts of the museum and a nearby chapel, as well as renovating the museum's interior. Almost invisible when viewed from the main entrance, the extension features four floors of galleries linked by generously proportioned circulation spaces, all designed with an emphasis on natural light.
The south facade of the new museum extension is clad in translucent laminated marble – allowing it to glow at night. Photos: Stefano Graziani
The south facade of the new museum extension is clad in translucent laminated marble – allowing it to glow at night. Photos: Stefano Graziani
×In Beijing, the Guardian Art Center by Buro Ole Scheeren blurs the boundary between a museum, a gallery and an auction house. A rich mix of gallery spaces, offices, educational facilities and an auction room, the building's main functions have been accommodated in different blocks that seem to converge on the urban site, crowned by a glazed hotel volume floating above. Inside, the muted palette lets the art come into its own, while the exterior remains abstract and mysterious, drawing visitors in.
The Guardian Arts Center offers an exciting public programme in the midst of central Beijing's more institutional, state-run offerings. Photos: Iwan Baan
The Guardian Arts Center offers an exciting public programme in the midst of central Beijing's more institutional, state-run offerings. Photos: Iwan Baan
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