Proposal by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Photo © 2004 Kotaro Hirano |
Proposal by Yoshio Taniguchi. Photo © 2004 Toshiharu Kitajima |
Proposal by Bernard Tschumi. Photo © 2004 Bernard Tschumi Architects |
In June 1997, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Yoshio Taniguchi, and Bernard Tschumi were invited to participate in the Architectural Competition for the design of the renovation and Expansion of The Museum of Modern Art. The Competition yielded three proposals that respond, in detail, to the needs and requirements described in the initial Competition Brief. Moreover, each architect's proposal demonstrates an ability to not only solve the myriad problems defined by the program, but to supersede those issues. The result is three distinct approaches to the history and future direction of the Museum. In December of 1997, the Museum selected Yoshio Taniguchi as the architect for the new museum.
These projects, both collectively and individually, will no doubt have a great impact on the continuing debates concerning the idea of the contemporary museum and the course of architecture in the next century. However, their respective successes are intimately linked to the extent to which they have addressed issues specific to this institution and its dense urban context. In this sense, the three architects have not approached the design of the new Museum simply as the reiteration of a particular building type; nor have they conceived of the urban context as a formulaic adherence to a series of height and setback restrictions. Rather, all three schemes bear out the architects' profound understanding of the unique character of this particular architectural problem for this particular institution, fusing historical precedent with pure invention.
Each scheme is a reflection upon the nature of urban architecture at a time when, in this country and elsewhere, the practice of architecture is an increasingly suburbanized, and even de-urbanized, occupation that focuses on undeveloped sites, the locations of which are farther and farther away from established urban centers. To the extent that all three proposals so skillfully demonstrate the potential role for the architect in transforming the built environment, the Competition results can be seen as a primer of architectural strategies for the next century, strategies that can reaffirm and redefine the urban landscape.
Publication
Imagining the Future of The Museum of Modern Art: Studies in Modern Art 7 An in-depth examination of the process by which the Museum identified its goals for the Expansion and selected an architect, and more detailed presentations of the architects' proposals. To order this publication, see MoMA Publications: How to Order.
This exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Additional support is provided by The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art.
