After three years of waiting, the time has arrived. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) is getting ready to kick open the doors to its ten-story expansion by the architecture firm Snøhetta on 14 May.
The Bay Area’s fog and water inspired the new edifice's sweeping and sinewy east facade, made with 700 uniquely molded, fibreglass-reinforced polymer panels. The silvery structure is a stark departure from the red brick-ensconced existing building, by Mario Botta.
'Buildings are like dancing partners,' says Snøhetta co-founder Craig Dykers. 'You don’t want to repeat what the other is doing because you’ll step on their toes.' The two structures are connected by a seismic joint that visitors can see through glass viewers, but the boundary doesn’t draw attention to itself, as the two buildings flow as one without obvious demarcations. Moving between the buildings, Dykers says, 'shouldn’t be a jarring experience, but the museum-goers will have some awareness'.
As opposed to the formally predictable symmetry of Botta’s design, for instance, the new building features more versatile exhibition spaces. (Check out the room in the new wing displaying Agnes Martin paintings, which curators configured to be an octagonal space.)
At 235,000 sq ft, the Snøhetta addition more than doubles the museum’s total space. But the new landmark weighs less than the old structure by employing materials like lightweight cement and sand from nearby Monterey Bay. On track to receive LEED Gold certification, the new gallery spaces use energy-saving ambient LED lighting tucked above undulating ceiling panels calibrated to avoid light scallops.
Other notable features include six outdoor terraces, including the second-floor sculpture gallery that exhibits works by Alexander Calder against America’s largest public living wall by Habitat Horticulture, consisting of over 19,000 plants including 21 native Northern Californian species.
Spatial and metaphorical openness is among the most emphasised elements, with 43,000 sq ft earmarked for free access. Two entrances on different streets allow pedestrians to pass through the museum’s ground-floor spaces, including a glass-fronted gallery inaugurated with Richard Serra’s 235-ton sculpture Sequence. SFMoMA will soon be open, in every sense of the word.
The silvery new structure is made of molded fibreglass-reinforced polymer panels. Photography: Henrik Kam. Courtesy SFMoMA
Old and new are connected by a seismic joint that remains visible to visitors when they walk through the museum. Photography: Iwan Baan. Courtesy SFMoMA
Seen here in SFMoMA’s gallery spaces is a new show, entitled ’The Campaign for Art: Modern and Contemporary’, also opening on 14 May. Photography: Iwan Baan. Courtesy SFMoMA
At 235,000 sq ft, the Snøhetta addition more than doubles the museum’s total space. But the new landmark weighs less than the old structure by employing materials like lightweight cement and sand from nearby Monterey Bay. Pictured: ’The Campaign for Art: Modern and Contemporary’. Photography: Iwan Baan. Courtesy SFMoMA
On track to receive LEED Gold certification, the new gallery spaces use energy-saving ambient LED lighting tucked above undulating ceiling panels calibrated to avoid light scallops. Pictured: install of ’Approaching American Abstraction: The Fisher Collection’, another launch show. Photography: Iwan Baan. Courtesy SFMoMA
Outside spaces include the Pat and Bill Wilson Sculpture Terrace, that holds works by Alexander Calder and America’s largest public living wall, by Habitat Horticulture. Pictured centre: Maquette for trois disques (three disks), formerly ‘man’, by Alexander Calder, 1967. Photography: Henrik Kam, courtesy SFMOMA
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Snøhetta's website
ADDRESS
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
-
Riva El-Iseo is the legendary boat builder’s first fully-electric motor yachtThe Riva El-Iseo electric speedboat blends classic Italian lines with a silent, powerful and zero-emission powertrain
-
Technogym Home Bench 40 ways: designers interpret the home exercise classicTechnogym marks its 40 anniversary with 40 special editions of its Home Bench created in collaboration with international creatives
-
AHEC presents new works in American maple as part of the Wallpaper* Class of ’24The American Hardwood Export Council takes part in the Wallpaper* Class of ’24 exhibition at Triennale Milano during Salone del Mobile (16-21 April 2024), presenting new pieces by Parti and Giles Tettey Nartey in American hard maple
-
A Petra Island house rises from Frank Lloyd Wright's original drawingsBased on Frank Lloyd Wright drawings, the cantilevering Petra Island Massaro House, located in New York’s Hudson Valley, is now open to visitors
-
An Upper West Side apartment by General Assembly nods to its historyAn Upper West Side apartment in New York, born out of the reimagining of two neighbouring units, is refreshed by General Assembly for a young family
-
New York's Leica store echoes the brand's blend of heritage and innovationLeica store throws open its doors in New York's Meatpacking District, courtesy of Brooklyn based Format Architecture Office
-
Hudson Valley Residence is a low-lying retreat that seamlessly blends into the horizonDesigned by HGX Design, Hudson Valley Residence is a scenic home offering unobstructed views across the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York
-
Boise Passive House’s bold gestures support an environmentally friendly designBoise Passive House by Haas Architecture combines sleek, contemporary design and environmental efficiency
-
At the Hilbert Museum of California Art’s expanded home, art and architecture convergeThe Hilbert Museum of California Art expands its home, courtesy of Los Angeles architecture studio Johnston Marklee
-
Pearlman Cabin by John Lautner is an organic Californian mountain retreatJohn Lautner’s midcentury Pearlman Cabin, tucked away in the Californian mountain resort of Idyllwild, is a striking example of organic architecture
-
Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House is reborn in Palm SpringsAluminaire House, designed by legendary modernist Albert Frey, has been reconstructed outside the Palm Springs Art Museum
