sketches of design for contemporary art museum… investigating the “wall” as plane, surface, division, light reflector… also looking at the building’s relationship to the central corridor that pierces the entire building in sectional models… 

precedent study model - light and structure…

For Studio, we are designing a contemporary arts center on a pier on the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As Amrita says, “it’s the most hipster project in the world,” and totally true. Prior to visiting the site last week I looked at Peter Zumthor’s Kunsthaus in Bregenz, Austria as a precedent. In studying the building, I made a section model showing the way light enters through the glass structural shell that encases the concrete gallery spaces. It then illuminates the plenum space, and dissipates into each of the floors below. The beauty of this building is in the details - as seen in the image where the exterior joint detail carries/frames the glazing and allows each panel to overlap. So nice!

Zumthor’s design approach - a glowing cube - allows it to be easily recognized within the city and from afar as it sits on Lake Constance. While other art museums try to integrate with the rest of the city fabric, his approach stands out like a diamond. It’s unclear my approach just yet, but the luminous effect of this building and the challenge of designing such important and intricate details excites me.