Museums: The Latest Architecture and News

With no shortage of historical buildings in need of expansion or repurposing, alterations of older architecture via contemporary interventions have flourished in the past four decades – particularly in service of new or growing art museums. These spaces represent the resilience of our historical legacy through contemporary times, demonstrating that the combination even of two vastly different architectural styles can be both beautiful and impressive. Here are ten of the best examples of contemporary interventions on historical buildings in art museums around the world.

The Museum of London has unveiled the design for their new West Smithfield home. Designed by Stanton Williams, Asif Khan, and Julian Harrap Architects, the plans showcase the transformation of a campus of beautiful yet dilapidated market buildings into a 24-hour cultural destination. The scheme celebrates the historic buildings of West Smithfield, while creating a unique, memorable visitor experience.

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Reacting to the influx of gargantuan, iconic museum buildings produced by China’s recent “museum boom,” MORE Architecture aimed to create an intricate, experiential space with their design for Ginkgo Gallery. The gallery, construction on which has now begun, was conceived as a humble merging of art and nature, part of a network of private museums in the Yangtze River Delta. Ginkgo Gallery also houses an auditorium and workshop space in an effort to make art a part of public life and educate children in contemporary art.

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The 3rd Rifat Chadirji Prize for Architecture by Tamayouz Excellence Award.

Tamayouz Excellence Award is delighted to invite students, designers and architects worldwide to design an architectural and cultural landmark in the city of Sharjah in the UAE that hosts the Barjeel collection and represents modern art, architecture and design in the Arab world.

The competition hopes to see a contemporary museum does not become a historic pastiche but is relevant to contemporary architectural discourse whilst being informed by local cultural heritage and environmental conditions.

Berlin has been a main witness of the greatest cultural, religious, political and artistic transfor­mations of Europe throughout the centuries and its architectural and urban heritage allow us to revisit through its streets, monuments and buildings the convulsive history of this continent. From its origins in the middle Ages it has witnessed the raise of the Prussian Empire and its collapse after the First World War, its resurgence as the Weimar Republic and later the formation of the III Reich. It has seen the horrors of World War II, occupied and divided by a shameful wall for almost 30 years and later, after its fall, it has experienced the reunification of a country to finally establish itself as the most important capital of Europe.

The Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar has opened to the public in Doha. The architectural concept for the scheme has been inspired by the desert rose, and seeks to create a dialogue between the fluid, contemporary architectural form of the museum, and the historic objects it will contain. As quoted in a recent press release by Qatar Museums, the scheme will “give a voice to Qatar’s heritage whilst celebrating its future.” The museum opened to a lavish ceremony attended by architect Nouvel, and celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Johnny Depp.

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On June 12, 2016, the largest and deadliest act of violence affecting LGBTQ+ people, and one of the deadliest terrorist attacks by a single gunman in modern American history occurred at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. A total of 49 people’s lives were taken that night, 68 others were injured, and hundreds were left permanently affected by the trauma.

In the aftermath, the Orlando community and the world came together to prove that love will overcome fear and hatred. Under this banner, the onePULSE Foundation, an educational nonprofit, was created to memorialize this tragedy and ensure that Pulse’s legacy of love, acceptance, and hope will never be lost.

Architects often find inspiration from the most unexpected places and objects. For Kalliope Kontozoglou, the C6th Cypriot Sphinx in the Louvre Museum and its tilted head were great influence behind her proposal for the International Architectural Competition for the New Cyprus Museum.

To honor the country’s rich historic archeology, and frame Nicosia’s topography, Kontozoglou proposed a multidimensional museum, which aims to weave the city’s topography, the exhibitions, and the public spaces all together in a sequence of ‘narrative landscapes’, promoting dialogue between the visitors, Cyprus’ landscape, and the country’s heritage.

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Architecture and design practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro have been selected to design the Hungarian Museum of Transport in Budapest. As the new home for one of the oldest transport museums in Europe, the project will be sited in a former railway yard. The project uses the idea of ground transportation as a central organizing principle, highlighting the central role of the ground in urban planning and infrastructure. The design de-familiarizes ground by excavating, lifting, and cutting to produce unexpected environments.

Snøhetta has designed a new Museum Quarter for Bolzano, Italy that will be home to Ötzi the Iceman. Sited atop Virgl mountain, the project would overlook the city and connect to the new Bolzano cable car. As an open landmark, the Museum Quarter was made to serve as a terrace for Bolzano. The elevated museum and park will include exhibition and collection space around the iconic 5,300-year old glacier mummy.

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Uusi Kansallinen (in English: the New National) is a two-stage, open ideas architecture competition for the design of an Annex to the National Museum of Finland in Helsinki. The competition has been jointly organized by the Finnish Heritage Agency, the National Museum of Finland and Senate Properties.

Foster + Partners have released images of their proposed Mullin Automotive Park at Enstone Airfield, now submitted for planning permission. Intended as a “world-class automotive museum in the heart of the British countryside” the scheme will rehabilitate a disused airfield to support a growing community of classic automobile collectors.

Designed as a collection of buildings arranged in a crescent, the museum draws inspiration from the concept of a rural estate, with a journey through a carefully-considered landscape towards a main focal building. As well as reflecting on the history of the automobile industry over the last century, the scheme will house an open-ended collection charting the future of mobility.  

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Brazil's National Museum, one of Latin America's most important museums, was completely destroyed by a fire that started at 7:30 pm on Sunday evening. It housed over 20 million items related to the history of the Americas, many if not all of which were lost.

A report in the Rio Times indicates that the museum had operated normally on Sunday and closed its doors at 5:00 pm, two and a half hours before the blaze began. The cause of the fire remains undetermined.

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The V&A Dundee, in collaboration with Rapid Visual Media, have released drone footage and imagery ahead of the building’s opening, marking Kengo Kuma’s first UK project. The footage showcases the new museum jutting out into Dundee’s River Tay, inspired by the cliffs of Scotland.

The museum is formed of 2,500 pre-cast concrete panels hung from complex curving walls, casting shadows which vary depending on weather conditions. As well as being Kuma’s first UK building, the V&A Dundee is also the first dedicated design museum in Scotland.

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