Project 3 - Architect Research

Herning Museum of Contemporary Art | Steven Holl architects

Herning Museum of Contemporary Art in Herning, Denmark is a first prize winning project designed by Steven Holl Architects to accommodate exhibition galleries, 150 seat auditorium, music rehearsal rooms, restaurant, media library and administrative offices.

The Herning Center of the Arts unites three distinct cultural institutions: the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, the MidWest Ensemble and the Socle du Monde. The new center is intended to be an innovative forum combining visual art and music.

Herning’s prominent relationship with textiles and the Museum’s large collection of original works by Piero Manzoni (in total 46 works) form the inspiration for the concept design. The museum is sited near Herning’s original Angli shirt factory, and the shirt collar-shaped plan of its 1960s building has inspired the shape of the new museum building.

Viewed from above, the roof geometry resembles a collection shirt sleeves laid over the gallery spaces: the curved roofs bring balanced natural lights to the galleries. The loose edges of the plan offer spaces for the café, auditorium, lobby, and offices. The exhibition spaces can be easily closed, while all peripheral spaces remain open for after-hours use. Truck tarps were inserted into the white concrete formwork to yield a fabric texture to the building’s exterior walls.Gallery spaces are orthogonal and finely proportioned for art, while overhead curved roof sections transport natural light into the spaces.

The galleries’ perimeter walls are load bearing elements, emphasizing these as “treasure boxes” in the museum. Internal gallery walls of lightweight construction are movable, providing flexibility in anticipation of changing exhibitions. Floors of integral color charcoal concrete unify the ground plane into a continuous patina with a wax finish.

The reason I have researched Steven Holl is his has focused deeply with his contemporary art gallery creating different use in art gallery, such as using as display art, performance art, and music. He also focused on how people will move through his gallery which is very important point to think about the gallery. The point I like about Steven Holl's gallery is how people flow through the gallery very freely and simple design of exterior.