Overview
In this book, the world’s most exciting new museums are shown to be as inspiring as the works they display. The twenty-first century has seen a boom in museum construction, both in new buildings and renovations or additions to existing ones. Nearly thirty museums are given close inspection in this generously illustrated volume. Each entry includes a discussion of the building’s cultural and geographic environment, complemented by color photographs, sketches and architectural plans. The book encompasses four continents and highlights the designs of Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Steven Holl, Zaha Hadid, Mario Botta, David Chipperfield, Tadao Ando, Yoshio Taniguchi and Daniel Libeskind. In addition, the authors provide thoughtful commentary on the relationship between architecture and the fine arts and an assessment of museum functionality in modern times. Suzanne Greub is Director of the Art Centre Basel and the editor of several exhibition catalogues. She is a contributor to Museums for a New Millenium (Prestel). Thierry Greub is an art historian and Assistant Director of the Art Centre Basel.Synopsis
In this book, the world s most exciting new museums are shown to be as inspiring as the works they display.
The twenty-first century has seen a boom in museum construction, both in new buildings and renovations or additions to existing ones. Nearly thirty museums are given close inspection in this generously illustrated volume. Each entry includes a discussion of the building s cultural and geographic environment, complemented by color photographs, sketches and architectural plans. The book encompasses four continents and highlights the designs of Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Steven Holl, Zaha Hadid, Mario Botta, David Chipperfield, Tadao Ando, Yoshio Taniguchi and Daniel Libeskind. In addition, the authors provide thoughtful commentary on the relationship between architecture and the fine arts and an assessment of museum functionality in modern times. Suzanne Greub is Director of the Art Centre Basel and the editor of several exhibition catalogues. She is a contributor to Museums for a New Millenium (Prestel). Thierry Greub is an art historian and Assistant Director of the Art Centre Basel.Library Journal
As the opening of signature museum buildings by celebrity architects proceeds, so follow the books determined to record that procession. This one, edited by Suzanne and Thierry Greub, director and assistant director of the Art Centre Basel, respectively, documents a traveling exhibition about recent building campaigns on four continents. Six essays (unevenly edited or translated) address the state of museum architecture generally and buttress illustrated evaluations of 26 individual projects all but seven museums of fine art representing commissions by the likes of Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, Renzo Piano, and Yoshio Taniguchi. Most of the contributing authors, all respected writers on architecture, consider the "Bilbao effect," wherein a new building is recognized apart from the art collection it contains and is expected to foster a local economy and civic pride. Some fresh insights emerge on the function of new museum spaces (and new institutions), but the commercial look and uniformly positive tone may undermine the book's value as a critical commentary. Like its companion, Museums for a New Millennium, this book is most suitable for larger public libraries and collections dedicated to architectural history and practice. John Hagood, National Gallery of Art Lib., Washington, DC Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.