Rafael Vinoly at
CMA.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - The Cleveland Museum of Art has unveiled a
major expansion and renovation design by architect Rafael Vinoly.
The dynamic design features a soaring glass canopy that unifies
the museum's campus with vibrant, light filled spaces. The design
for the building project, estimated at $225 million, was
presented in Cleveland in early February as part of an ongoing
series of public forums. The project is targeted for
groundbreaking in 2004.
Vinoly's design creates an architectural setting on par with the
Cleveland Museum of Art's extraordinary collection of objects
spanning 6,000 years. It increases the museum's size by 43
percent and employs innovative uses of glass. The expanded
galleries will allow a greater percentage of the collection to be
on view and provide larger open spaces to feature the museum's
growing collection of contemporary art.
Over the last 50 years, the Cleveland Museum of Art built three
additions to its original 1916 Beaux Arts facility to accommodate
its growing audience, programming and collection. The anchors of
the new museum campus are the original 1916 building and a 1971
addition.
Vinoly's design emphasizes the original axis of the museum
growing from the heart of the original 1916 classic marble
building. The two new curving wings to the east and west of the
1916 building restore the building's symmetry and feature
translucent glass that makes an elegant transition from the
horizontal granite strips of the Breuer addition. The
reorientation of the building complex connects it to the
surrounding Rockefeller Park, providing spectacular views.
The 1958 and 1983 building additions will be removed to allow for
more cohesive circulation. The full north façade of the 1916
building will be revealed for the first time in more than 40
years.
Joining the components of the museum complex will be a
cantilevered glass canopy forming a 38,000-square-foot courtyard,
which will be the starting point for visitor paths through the
museum. The courtyard will also house large-scale sculpture and
provide year-round space for civic and museum activities.
The new design provides almost 40,000 square feet of additional
gallery space, including new special exhibition space and fully
dedicated galleries for all of the museum's collection areas. The
entire Breuer special exhibitions space will be dedicated in the
future plan to a new Life-Long Learning Center, which will
provide hands-on contextual learning oriented to families. A new,
larger special exhibitions facility will accommodate larger
international exhibitions. A new restaurant, renovated and
restored state-of-the-art auditorium, expanded library and
underground parking add to the enhanced visitor experience.
Rafael Vinoly Architects is an internationally recognized
architectural firm with offices in New York, London and Buenos
Aires.
Past projects by Vinoly include the Tokyo International Forum;
Princeton University's Palmer Memorial Stadium; Samsung Cultural
and Education Center, Seoul; and The Kimmel Center for the
Performing Arts, Philadelphia. Among the current projects are the
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh; the Boston
Convention & Exhibition Center; the Frederick P. Rose Hall,
the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, and the newly
awarded renovation project for the John F. Kennedy Memorial
Center for the Performing arts, Washington, DC. Museum projects
include the Queens Museum in New York, the Fortabat Museum in
Buenos Aires, the Tampa Museum of Art and Duke University's
Nasher Museum of Art.
