The Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St Louis is Japanese master Tadao Ando's very first freestanding public commission in the United States, completed in 2001. Since August 2014, the original building has been undergoing a makeover, in consultation with Ando, to accommodate the foundation's growing needs.
Responding to an increasing demand for space, the new project includes a significant expansion of the foundation's gallery area. Arranged within the building's lower level, two major new display spaces, which previously hosted offices and storage, will now be part of the institution's exhibitions and activities program, aimed to engage the wider public and local community. These new spaces increase the foundation's program capacity by a striking near-fifty percent.
At the same time, the organisation (previously known as The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts) relaunches under a new name 'to emphasise [its] institutional vision'.
This is the building's first major alteration since its completion in the early noughties. And Ando's skilful redesign is focusing on more than just increasing floor space; a new, additional staircase will support movement through the building and help with visitor flow, perfecting both circulation and visitor experience within the new and old parts.
The Pullitzer Art Foundation's building is an exercise in concrete, Ando's usual material of choice. Here, pictured, the western facade.
A short flight of steps leads up to the disrceet front entrance. Photography: Robert Pettus
The original building also included a serene watercourt
The building now features two new gallery areas. Picture here, Gallery
These two new spaces increase the foundation's program capacity by 50 per cent. Pictured here, Gallery E.
Previously hosting offices and storage, the redesigned areas are now seamlessly connected with the rest of the building through the watercourt entrance.
Circulation was prefected, through the use of a new staircase.
The new areas were connected with the existing spaces in a way that supports movement through the museum, as well as visitor experience.
ADDRESS
3716 Washington Blvd
St Louis
MO 63108
United States
-
Wallpaper* gift guide: architecture editor Ellie Stathaki’s picksThis gift guide spans an off-grid shelter, a sauna book, a model city, and restorative skincare – treats for architecture fans and beyond
-
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival design by Studio Gang revealed
The first images for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival by Studio Gang have been unveiled
-
Wander Hotel in Beijing is an ideal escape for serene moments of introspection
Renovated by Fon Studio, Wander Hotel adds organic symmetry to the adjacent Great Wall of China
-
Tadao Ando’s ‘Space of Light’, a meditation pavilion, opens in South Korea
Tadao Ando’s ‘Space of Light’ pavilion opens at Museum SAN in South Korea
-
Tadao Ando’s Shinmonzen hotel in Kyoto is a new classic
Respectful of the past but with a unique take on the present, Kyoto’s Tadao Ando-designed Shinmonzen hotel should be a hit for years to come
-
Pinault Collection at the Bourse by Tadao Ando opens in Paris
Tadao Ando’s Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection museum opens in Paris with a selection of culture and hospitality spaces that emphasise art and design wrapped in concrete minimalism
-
Tadao Ando and François Pinault win Best Double Act: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021
Tadao Ando and François Pinault have been awarded the Best Double Act at the 2021 Wallpaper* Design Awards. Here, they discuss their joint work over 20 years, and the upcoming opening of the Bourse de Commerce in Paris
-
Commerce redesign in Paris announces opening
Tadao Ando's transformation of the Bourse de Commerce in Paris for the Pinault Collection announces its opening on 23 January 2021
-
Tadao Ando’s He Art Museum draws on local Chinese vernacular
The famed Japanese architect draws on traditional, local architecture in his latest cultural project, the He Art Museum (HEM), which prepares to open its doors in Shunde, Southern China
-
Tadao Ando brings signature simplicity to the condo for his NYC debut
Tadao Ando’s seven-storey, seven-residence condominium 152 Elizabeth Street in Manhattan’s Nolita district is an intimate tower with an ‘urban shakkei’
-
Tadao Ando show opens at the Armani/Silos in Milan
