by way of the St. Louis chapter of the AIGA website -
An interesting look at the design of the Contemporary Art Museum of St Louis by Allied Works Architecture. Now, I must confess. I am not a big fan of the building. The sketches and preliminary drawings just prove that this is a building that comes off better in the presentation than in the realization. No one in real life ever sees this from a bird's eye view or a wide angle view from well above street level. So, it's noteworthy that there are no street level drawings. From street level the place looks like a big bomb shelter; add a little barbed wire trim and it would make a stylish looking prison. Do we really want art museums that are grey, dull and formidable? Flashy website and nice presentation drawings - but for most people, in most situations, this is a stark and ugly building.
p.s. - if you want to read a good example of contemporary aesthetic doublespeak, read the section called 'premise'. It's a hoot.
Posted by Tom at June 1, 2005 09:28 AM