MFA Expansion

Status
Not open for further replies.

briv

Senior Member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Messages
2,083
Reaction score
3
Just realized that we didnt have a thread on the MFA expansion. We had before the board crashed, but..

Here's an excerpt from Foster's site describing the design:

Architecturally, the project echoes themes explored in the Reichstag and the Great Court at the British Museum, establishing a creative dialogue between the old and the new, and strengthening links with the local community by making the building more open and accessible. At the core of the scheme is the restoration of the symmetry and logic of the Museums original Beaux-Arts plan, devised in 1907 by the American architect Guy Lowell. Following Lowell's intentions, the central axis of the main building on Huntingdon Avenue is reasserted with the reintroduction of the main entrance to the south and the reopening of the north entrance, which is currently closed to visitors. At the heart of this axis is a new information centre, from where all visitors will begin their tour of the galleries. A glazed structure - a crystal spine - provides new accommodation and partly encloses the two grand courtyards at the centre of the Museum in a glass jewel box, creating valuable new space for visitor orientation, cafes, sculpture and special events.

For more infor check out foster's site or the projects's section on the MFA's site, where you can also watch a 5 minute video presentation that includes virtual walkthroughs:

http://www.fosterandpartners.com/Practice/Default.aspx
http://www.mfa.org/about/index.asp?key=54

MFA_Overview-smallforweb.jpg


mfa5.jpg


mfa2.jpg


mfa3.jpg


mfa1.jpg


mfa4.jpg


MFA_253-smallforweb.jpg


MFA_234-smallforweb.jpg


MFA_412b-smallforweb.jpg


MFA_American_Gallery-smallforweb.jpg
 
Could Foster's addition be a case where there's simultaneously too much architecture and too little architecture?
 
I thought they were going to build something over the parking lot? Or was that scaled back for financial reasons?
 
Pictured is only phase 1. The parking lot comes in phase 3, I think.

justin
 
If all goes according to plan this will be the end result. Presumably phase 2 would replace the Pei wing and phase 3 fill in the parking lot.
MFA-rend0.jpg
 
This expansion is good. The building itself does not and will not distract museum-goers from fully appreciating the art. If you look at the Denver Museum of Art's expansion, most people are enthralled with the architecture. The art comes secondary or is completely forgotten.
 
Well, that may have as much to do with Denver's collection...

justin
 
So that's what happens with those old exhibits. They just get tossed out the window. :D
 
TC said:
So that's what happens with those old exhibits. They just get tossed out the window. :D

No, that's a brand new exhibit. The MFA is feeling the heat from the ICA.

justin
 
justin said:
TC said:
So that's what happens with those old exhibits. They just get tossed out the window. :D

No, that's a brand new exhibit. The MFA is feeling the heat from the ICA.

justin

It's brilliant!
I was at first repulsed by this shocking arrangement but soon found myself engrossed by its shear audacity.
I love the complexity, the depth, the soul. It make a very strong statement through it's structure (or lack thereof). The massing and use of empty space give it playfulness that is often lacking in contemporary works.
Though somewhat derivative of earlier works in this genre, it still amazingly original and refreshing.

Truly a stunning piece.
 
No, no, you guys ... its not a new exhibit, its the actual expansion. Sir Norman Foster turned over the reins to Frank Gehry!
 
Looks more like Peter Eisenmann's work than Gehry's...
 
The atrium spaces remind me of Johnson's BPL addition... probably intentional.
 
I have no camera, so can't provide pictures, but demolition of the MFA's old east wing is now seriously under way. There's a fully open passage into the courtyard for construction equipment and the interior walls of galleries in the north arm are now exposed. The crews are moving quickly, so it's worth getting over to the Forsyth Way side of the building in the next few days.
 
I took pictures yesterday, and I'll have them up by tomorrow morning or so. Maybe I'll swing by again, too.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top