Museums are an architect’s playground, both in designing and visiting. More than with other building typologies, museum patrons encourage design exploration, experimentation, and expression. In his new book The Architecture of Art Museums: A Decade of Design: 2000 – 2010 (2014, Routledge), Ronnie Self, an architect and associate professor of architecture at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, takes us on a tour of 18 museums across the United States and Europe. Self, no stranger to museum architecture, worked at Renzo Piano Building Workshop for 12 years on projects including the Atelier Brancusi, the Fondation Beyeler, and work at the Centre Georges Pompidou
As the U.S. correspondent for the French publication Archicrée, Self had been to many of the museums prior to writing his book, then visited the remaining museums and met with their directors to complete the new volume. Each chapter follows an identical template; starting with an overview, the essay moves through the design process with plans and sections, and ends with a telling detail. The consistent methodology makes it easy to compare museums and to highlight their differences. Continue reading “Typing the Museum”
