The Grand Rapids Art Museum was won in an international competitive interview process in 2002. The site, in the heart of Grand Rapids, forms the centre piece of the City regeneration. The foreground to the Museum is a park called Ecliptic by Maya Lin. The park extends up into and around the lobby and café of the restaurant allowing continuity between the outdoor courts and the park. The Museum is naturally cooled using a concrete labyrinth under the front court to balance between daytime and night time temperatures.
The galleries of Old and New Art are placed in a high wall away from the park. There are glass lanterns above the permanent galleries. These form a contained buffer of captured air reducing energy consumption and allowing natural light to filter down to the galleries.
Grand Rapids Art Museum |
Value: US$ 50 m |
Client: Trustees of Grand Rapids Art Museum |
Construction: 2004 - 2007 |
135 Curtain Road
London EC2A 3BX
T 44 20 7739 3300
F 44 20 7739 3390
mail@mandp.uk.com
45 E 20th Street
4th Floor
New York 10003
T 001 212 982 8219
F 001 212 254 1259
darci@mandmus.com