Frank Gehry’s project for the Philadelphia Museum of Art finally saw the light of day, fifteen years after its launch and at the end of a four-year project. Entitled “Core Project”, it consists of a modernization of the main building of the museum, built in 1928, the creation of new spaces and the improvement of the visitor experience, emphasizes The Architect’s Newspaper. All this at a cost of 233 million dollars (191 million euros),
The main entrance, Lenfest Hall, has been redesigned to welcome visitors in a large and bright space, overlooked by a high coffered ceiling. A new space, dedicated to the public and to events – large installations or performances – has been created in place of the old auditorium. Called Forum William, it connects the ground floor to the upper floors of the museum, via a curved staircase twelve meters high.
The project also includes the reopening to the public of the Vaulted Walkway. This long arched corridor had been closed to visitors for fifty years. It allows the public to circulate over the entire north-south width of the museum, which is nearly 200 meters long.
Two new galleries facing each other have been created. Dedicated to American art from 1650 to 1850, they exhibit more than 800 works around the constitutive themes of the history of the United States, namely immigration, colonialism and international trade, and the place of Philadelphia in this national history.
Finally, the west terrace was rebuilt, and the museum’s aging infrastructure was modernized. In total, more than 8,300 m² of space has been created.
The 92-year-old Pritzker Prize-winning architect signs a clean renovation for the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts, blending into the original architecture. To carry out his project, Frank Gehry drew on the spirit of the first architects of the place, Horace Trumbauer and Julian Abele. Affirming his admiration for the achievement of these, evoking a “Powerful design”, he reused for his constructions the same stone from which the museum is made, a light beige limestone from the mines of Minnesota. The facade of the museum, modeled on the Greek temples, was not however modified by the architect.
The project, very long and expensive, is described by the president of the board of directors of the museum, Leslie Anne Miller, as a “Investment in Philadelphia”. The Frank Gehry brand should indeed attract many visitors, at a time when the public can finally find its cultural places.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, founded in 1876, is the largest museum in the city of Pennsylvania. The main building houses a rich collection of art, especially from the 20th century. It is connected to the Rodin Museum, which keeps the second largest collection of works by the French sculptor, after the Parisian museum.
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