Still life: the Glenstone Museum’s extension aims for a calming experience

In this age of intense stimulation overload, it’s encouraging to see a museum heading in the opposite direction. Thomas Phifer and Partners’ addition to the Glenstone Museum, set to open late next year in Potomac, MD, just under 15 miles from Washington DC, is as much about meditation and serenity as it is about art and culture.
The project increases the complex’s exhibition space from 9,000 to 59,000 sq ft, and adds about 130 acres of pastoral, tree-filled landscape by Peter Walker and Partners. Glenstone’s initial facility was completed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates in 2006.
After parking their cars, visitors approach the addition, a cluster of structures known as The Pavilions, via a ten-minute walk across a rolling, wildflower-filled meadow, up a slight ridge. Phifer calls this promenade ‘a quieting experience’. He notes, ‘Everything starts to slow down. You feel the topography as you make your way forward.’
You then reach the new complex, a dozen cast concrete rooms of varying configurations, partially embedded in the earth, interconnected by a glass clad passage wrapping around a central water court. Some of these still, timeless-feeling pavilions— lit gently from above via clerestories and skylights— will be dedicated to single artists, others to rotating exhibitions. But all will allow you to quietly commune with the work, secluded from the city, the immediate vicinity, and even, for a moment, the other sections of the museum. The final pavilion contains a viewing area to take in the expanded pasture land, which includes more than 6,000 new trees and over 40 species of plants.
The museum’s collection centres on an elite selection of post-World War II paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations and multimedia works from over 200 artists, including John Baldessari, Jasper Johns, Richard Serra, Cy Twombly, Ellsworth Kelly, Louise Bourgeois, Dan Flavin, Michael Heizer, and many more. Its founders, Mitchell and Emily Wei Rales, visited 50 museums worldwide to learn lessons from each.
‘We wanted to understand what great was,’ says Mitchell Rales, who sought to distance his museum from the crowds, hype and noise that have infiltrated so many contemporary cultural experiences. ‘I think people want more calm in their lives,’ adds Phifer, his soothing voice belying this contemplative approach.
The addition also includes a new arrival hall, offices, two cafes, a centre that highlights Glenstone’s sustainability efforts, and monumental public art from the likes of Jeff Koons and Tony Smith. Admission to the museum will remain free.
The project increases the exhibition space from 9,000 to 59,000 square feet, and adds about 130 acres of pastoral, tree-filled landscape by Peter Walker and Partners.
As visitors approach the museum, they will be welcomed by a complex known as The Pavilions.
The architects wanted to create a space that helps the visitor 'slow down'.
Some of the pavilions will be dedicated to single artists, others to rotating exhibitions.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Thomas Phifer and Partners website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Fiat’s pint-sized Panda is reinvented for the electric age, albeit as a compact crossover
The new Fiat Grande Panda has arrived, one of a new wave of compact EVs due out in European markets throughout 2025
By Guy Bird Published
-
Inside Joan Didion’s unseen diary of personal relationships and post-therapy notes
A newly discovered diary by Joan Didion is soon to be published. Titled 'Notes to John', the journal documents her relationship with her daughter, husband, alcoholism, and depression
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Jacquemus is officially designing its first beauty line: what will it look like?
French fashion brand Jacquemus announces an official move into beauty with a line of products created in partnership with L’Oréal. Wallpaper* makes some predictions on what they might be
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Palm Springs Modernism Week 2025: let the desert architecture party begin
Palm Springs Modernism Week 2025 launches on 13 February, marking the popular annual desert event’s 20th anniversary, celebrated this year through more midcentury marvels than ever
By Carole Dixon Published
-
On the shores of Discovery Bay, this wooden house is the ultimate waterside retreat
Dekleva Gregorič’s Discovery Bay House is a structured yet organic shelter that blends perfectly into the surrounding Pacific Northwest landscape
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The 10 emerging American Midwest architects you need to know
We profile 10 emerging American Midwest architects shaking up the world of architecture - in their territory, and beyond
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A light-filled New York loft renovation magics up extra space in a deceptively sized home
This New York loft renovation by local practice BOND is now a warm and welcoming apartment that feels more spacious than it actually is
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Inside Bell Labs, the modernist vision behind Severance's minimalist setting
We explore the history of Bell Labs - now known as Bell Works - the modernist Eero Saarinen-designed facility in New Jersey, which inspired the dystopian minimalist setting of 'Severance'
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Zaha Hadid Architects’ new project will be Miami’s priciest condo
Construction has commenced at The Delmore, an oceanfront condominium from the firm founded by the late Zaha Hadid, ZHA
By Anna Solomon Published
-
A West Austin house invites you to commune with nature
Westview Residence by Alterstudio, a West Austin house among trees, makes the most of large windows and open-air decks in a verdant setting
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Apple’s new Miami store employs the principles of biophilic design
Apple’s first mass-timber store connects shoppers to nature while echoing the Art Deco architecture of Miami
By Anna Solomon Published