British Museum Gets Approval for World Conservation
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| The British Museum (interior). © The Trustees of the British Museum. |
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| Rendered view of the proposed World Conservation and Exhibitions Center on Montague Place. Image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum. |
and Exhibitions Center
By STAN PARCHIN
December 18, 2009
After some revisions, the Trustees of the
British Museum announced today that London's Camden Council granted planning permission for the institution's new 17,000-square-meter World Conservation and Exhibitions Center dedicated to the preservation, research, display and lending of objects from the BM's permanent collection. Work on the £135 million facility, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, is to begin in January 2010 and be completed in 2013.
The center, finished in specially produced glass and traditional stone, will be located in the British Museum's northwest corner. It will provide a much-needed 1,000-square-meter gallery for special exhibitions (accessible from the Great Court), modern conservation and science research laboratories, an objects management location for the museum's domestic and international loan programs and state-of-the-art storage for the study collection. Modern scientific equipment that requires specific lighting and a vibration-free environment will be situated in the building's lowest level to ensure optimum performance.
Four U.S. Art Museums Announce Capital ProjectsBy STAN PARCHIN
December 15, 2009
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| New expansion to Saint Louis Art Museum designed by David Chipperfield. Image courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum. |
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| New expansion to Saint Louis Art Museum designed by David Chipperfield (interior). Image courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum. |
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| Clyfford Still Museum designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture. Image courtesy of Clyfford Still Museum. |
Four American art museums recently revealed details about their capital projects and expansions.
The Saint Louis Art Museum today provided information about its $130.5 million expansion designed by award-winning British architect David Chipperfield. Following a one-year delay, SLAM will host a groundbreaking ceremony on January 19, 2010. The two years of construction by Tarlton/Pepper/KAI will result in a more than 200,000-square-foot addition with new galleries, a public space and a below-grade parking garage for 300 cars. The museum's historic 1904 Cass Gilbert building will acquire east and south additions. More than 13,000 square feet of its interior space will be renovated for permanent collection galleries, education, classrooms and public use.
Chipperfield is responsible for the remarkable restoration of Berlin, Germany's Neue Museum, which reopened in October 2008. The building is home to the famous Egyptian
Bust of Queen Nefertiti (ca. 1351-1327 B.C.) and other important antiquities.
The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado, designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, broke ground yesterday. Dedicated to the art of the late American Abstract Expressionist and scheduled for a mid-2011 opening, the $29 million building's 31,500 square feet will house some 2,400 works spanning the artist's entire career. The two-story structure will feature a conservation laboratory, storage areas, a library, archives and interactive kiosks.
The Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. plans a $5 million giant inflatable addition to its courtyard in May and October of each year. Designed by New York's Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the 145-foot-high balloon will provide space for the performing arts, film screenings and conferences.
And the Cleveland Museum of Art announced yesterday that its Board of Trustees approved the next step in its $350 million expansion designed by New York-based architect Rafael Viñoly, slated for completion in 2013. The plan includes completion of the museum's new West Wing, atrium roof, enclosures, administrative offices and infrastructure.