Untitled Document

museum of american folk art

tod williams & billie tsien associates

front facade: http://www.twbta.com/

For me the most striking thing about this building is the facade. It combines elegance and strength through a few simple gestures. The slight folding of the planes described in many cases as a cupped hand gestures it towards the street. The material, Tombasil (a form of white bronze), was carefully developed and selected. It catches the light in a certain way and so is said to change with the time of day, being described as both "moody and dark, jubilant and gleaming."(A+U p42) The material is the result of a manual fabrication process, therefore each panel is unique. It is this way it begins to reference the artifacts on display.

light from the top: http://www.twbta.com/

The architects have described the journey through the museum as one induced by light. Natural light is let into the museum from all sides, "slipping through cracks in the poured-concrete shell" (Architectural Record p210) As you move through the building the source and the quality of the light keep changing, reaching an apex with a large angled sun scoop at the top of the building. It is a different take on the traditional black box gallery space.

longitudinal section (from Architectural Review) superimposed with colour to mark the angled sun scoop at the top of the building.

light from the sides and above: http://www.twbta.com/

bibliography

Pearson, Clifford. “Tod Williams and Billie Tsien combine weighty materials and ethereal space to make he small American Folk Art museum a big deal” Architectural Record. May 2002, v.190 n.5 p 202-[211]

McGuire, Penny. “City Folk”, Architectural Review. Feb 2002 v.211 n.1266 p 68-[73]

“Tod Williams Billie Tsien, Architects: Museum of American Folk Art, New York, USA 2001.” A + U: architecture and urbanism 2002 Oct., n.10(385), p.40-45.

http://www.twbta.com/

http://www.folkartmuseum.org/default.asp?id=873

inspiration