Art Storage, TX: Museum Islands
Harvard Graduate School of Design / Prof. Mark Lee & Prof. Sharon Johnston
Museum Islands proposes the design of an art storage facility in the Menil Foundation's campus in Houston, Texas. Before commencing the design, the analytical phase included the analysis of already existing museum islands, that is, art exhibition campuses which deploy the 'object in the field' masterplanning strategy. One such complex is Philip Johnson's New Canaan Estate in CT, built over 60 years with the insertion of strategically placed buildings, follies, houses, art pieces, installations, galleries, tunnels and paths to produce an archipelago of 'museum islands.' Philip Johnson's Estate in New Canaan includes 22 'islands' that together compose the museum. The taxonomy attempts to organize and categorize these elements by type, ranging fom 'exterior buildings' to 'outdoor vestibules' with the landscape being deployed as a form of architecture. The site is split into 5 quadrants, delineated by rows of trees of by the masonry remains of previously existing barn foundations or by water ways.
Inside the building, a monumental staircase defines the spatial experience of the user. As it descends along the building, it tapers to gradually permit ribbons of gallery spaces to wrap around the floorplan. On the other side, the stair landings extend into the library space, surrounded by soft walls of book shelves. The space thus brings together the program uses of archive/exhibition and library into a single spatial experience. Behind the archival wall are work spaces, offices and large storage spaces for special collections.