Diller + Scofidio - Institute of Contemporary Art

Announcement
Diller + Scofidio
Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston, Massachusetts

Partners Ricardo Scofidio and Elizabeth Diller.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, New England’s premier contemporary arts museum, has announced the architects who will design what will be the cultural jewel in the crown of the largest waterfront development in Boston’s history.
In a unanimous decision, the museum’s Board of Trustees have selected the firm Diller + Scofidio of New York as the architects for the new ICA at Fan Pier.

Completion of the museum, which will be Diller + Scofidio’s first major new building project in the United States, is projected for 2004.
Their innovative work explores how space functions in our culture and how architecture affects social behavior as much as it defines physical space. Their acclaimed design for the Brasserie Restaurant, located in Mies van der Rohe’s landmark Seagram building in New York, offers contemporary variations of van der Rohe’s design ethic: transparency, void space and refined architectural expression, in addition to introducing Diller+Scofidio’s trademark integration of media and architecture.

Photo courtesy ICA

The Brasserie Restaurant in the Seagram Building (2000).

Photo courtesy Diller+Scofidio

The Water Bar in the Blur Building.
A media pavilion for Swiss Expo 2002 by Diller+Scofidio.

The new ICA also will be the first art museum to be built in Boston in almost 100 years and will symbolize the architectural future of one of the nation’s most historic cities.

“We are very pleased with our decision to build a future with Diller and Scofidio at our side,” says Vin Cipolla, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ICA. “As partners, we will create a world-class contemporary art museum that is inextricably bound to the city we serve. ICA at Fan Pier will be a catalyst that elevates our cultural and architectural profile for the 21st century, intersecting people, art and ideas and securing the waterfront downtown as a major destination for all of Boston and all the world.”

The ICA’s Architecture Selection Committee includes: Chairman Nicholas Pritzker, Chairman of the Hyatt Development Corporation; Vin Cipolla, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and CEO of HNW Digital; Henrique de Campos Meirelles, President of Fleet Global Banking; Barbara F. Lee, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and philanthropist; Ellen Poss, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and philanthropist; and Director Jill Medvedow.

“The selection process over the past year has been very thorough and thoughtful, and given the exceptional qualifications of all four finalists our decision was not an easy one,” says Nicholas Pritzker. “Today, we are confident that Diller + Scofidio will more than meet the requirements for a new ICA that will serve as the cultural jewel of Fan Pier, energizing Boston’s waterfront and enlightening its visitors.”

The Chicago-based Pritzker family, sponsors of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize and owners of the Fan Pier properties along the Boston Harbor, dedicated the .75-acre parcel to be used for the development of a new civic and cultural destination. In the fall of 1999, following a highly competitive selection process, the city’s Boston 2000 Commission selected the ICA as the recipient of the site for a new museum of contemporary art. The museum received the land based both on its critical need for significantly more space to house its increasingly popular programming and exhibitions and because of its great potential to draw visitors to the waterfront year-round.

The new 60,000 square-foot museum will provide an enhanced and expanded setting for the ICA’s popular series of exhibitions, public programs and educational outreach, and will include a performing arts theater, educational facilities, a media and technology center, a bookstore, gift shop and restaurant.

The museum will be the cultural cornerstone of the $1.2 billion Fan Pier waterfront development. Planned for a nine-block industrial area, it will include 650 residential units, 770 hotel rooms and 107,000 square feet of civic and cultural space. In addition to the new ICA, two hotels and residential and office buildings, Fan Pier will include several acres of parks and open space, an extension of a walkway along the Harbor and a protected cove, as well as a public marina providing numerous recreational activities.

Fan Pier is a collaborative effort between the Pritzker family’s Hyatt Development Corporation, development manager Spaulding & Slye Colliers, master planner Urban Strategies and master planning architect Childs Bertman Tseckares. The accessible design and infrastructure of the Fan Pier plan was developed in consultation with neighborhood and harbor advisory groups, as well as city and state officials.

Other large-scale improvements to transform the waterfront include the 1.7-million-square-foot Boston Convention and Exhibition Center designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, which will be the nation’s largest convention center when it opens in early 2004. Also, the “Big Dig” will be completed by 2004, providing a convenient new underground highway system that will replace Boston’s elevated Central Artery highway. In addition, the city’s historic subway system will be enhanced by late 2002 to include a new Silver line transit way with waterfront access at several points.

Founded in 1936, the ICA is one of the oldest non-profit institutions devoted exclusively to the presentation of contemporary art. Through a comprehensive schedule of exhibitions of local, national and international significance and educational outreach, the museum provides the public access to contemporary art, artists and the creative process.
www.icaboston.org. ICA Boston

“Ric and I are honored to have been selected to design the new ICA at Fan Pier, and we are grateful to the museum for looking beyond the “usual suspects” and providing us with this extraordinary opportunity,” says Elizabeth Diller. “This will be a pivotal project in our career. We are eager to begin working in partnership with the ICA to develop a concept for this provocative and challenging waterfront site and to create a unique building that rethinks traditional materials and explores new technologies, shaping the future while also respecting the rich heritage of Boston.”

Diller+Scofidio, founded in 1979, is a collaborative interdisciplinary design team who incorporate architecture and cultural theory with design, performance and electronic media. Partners Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio are respected architectural academics and practitioners, as well as the first architects to receive a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant.

Diller+Scofidio arcspace features





				Features
		Announcement Diller + Scofidio Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Massachusetts Partners Ricardo Scofidio and Elizabeth Diller. The Institute of Contemporary Art, New England’s premier contemporary arts museum, has announced the architects who will design what will be the cultural jewel in the crown of the largest waterfront development in Boston’s history. In a unanimous decision, the museum’s Board of Trustees have selected the firm Diller + Scofidio of New York as the architects for the new ICA at Fan Pier. Completion of the museum, which will be Diller + Scofidio’s first major new building project in the United States, is projected for 2004. Their innovative work explores how space functions in our culture and how architecture affects social behavior as much as it defines physical space. Their acclaimed design for the Brasserie Restaurant, located in Mies van der Rohe’s landmark Seagram building in New York, offers contemporary variations of van der Rohe’s design ethic: transparency, void space and refined architectural expression, in addition to introducing Diller+Scofidio’s trademark integration of media and architecture. Photo courtesy ICA The Brasserie Restaurant in the Seagram Building (2000). Photo courtesy Diller+Scofidio The Water Bar in the Blur Building. A media pavilion for Swiss Expo 2002 by Diller+Scofidio. The new ICA also will be the first art museum to be built in Boston in almost 100 years and will symbolize the architectural future of one of the nation’s most historic cities. “We are very pleased with our decision to build a future with Diller and Scofidio at our side,” says Vin Cipolla, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ICA. “As partners, we will create a world-class contemporary art museum that is inextricably bound to the city we serve. ICA at Fan Pier will be a catalyst that elevates our cultural and architectural profile for the 21st century, intersecting people, art and ideas and securing the waterfront downtown as a major destination for all of Boston and all the world.” The ICA’s Architecture Selection Committee includes: Chairman Nicholas Pritzker, Chairman of the Hyatt Development Corporation; Vin Cipolla, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and CEO of HNW Digital; Henrique de Campos Meirelles, President of Fleet Global Banking; Barbara F. Lee, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and philanthropist; Ellen Poss, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and philanthropist; and Director Jill Medvedow. “The selection process over the past year has been very thorough and thoughtful, and given the exceptional qualifications of all four finalists our decision was not an easy one,” says Nicholas Pritzker. “Today, we are confident that Diller + Scofidio will more than meet the requirements for a new ICA that will serve as the cultural jewel of Fan Pier, energizing Boston’s waterfront and enlightening its visitors.” The Chicago-based Pritzker family, sponsors of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize and owners of the Fan Pier properties along the Boston Harbor, dedicated the .75-acre parcel to be used for the development of a new civic and cultural destination. In the fall of 1999, following a highly competitive selection process, the city’s Boston 2000 Commission selected the ICA as the recipient of the site for a new museum of contemporary art. The museum received the land based both on its critical need for significantly more space to house its increasingly popular programming and exhibitions and because of its great potential to draw visitors to the waterfront year-round. The new 60,000 square-foot museum will provide an enhanced and expanded setting for the ICA’s popular series of exhibitions, public programs and educational outreach, and will include a performing arts theater, educational facilities, a media and technology center, a bookstore, gift shop and restaurant. The museum will be the cultural cornerstone of the $1.2 billion Fan Pier waterfront development. Planned for a nine-block industrial area, it will include 650 residential units, 770 hotel rooms and 107,000 square feet of civic and cultural space. In addition to the new ICA, two hotels and residential and office buildings, Fan Pier will include several acres of parks and open space, an extension of a walkway along the Harbor and a protected cove, as well as a public marina providing numerous recreational activities. Fan Pier is a collaborative effort between the Pritzker family’s Hyatt Development Corporation, development manager Spaulding & Slye Colliers, master planner Urban Strategies and master planning architect Childs Bertman Tseckares. The accessible design and infrastructure of the Fan Pier plan was developed in consultation with neighborhood and harbor advisory groups, as well as city and state officials. Other large-scale improvements to transform the waterfront include the 1.7-million-square-foot Boston Convention and Exhibition Center designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, which will be the nation’s largest convention center when it opens in early 2004. Also, the “Big Dig” will be completed by 2004, providing a convenient new underground highway system that will replace Boston’s elevated Central Artery highway. In addition, the city’s historic subway system will be enhanced by late 2002 to include a new Silver line transit way with waterfront access at several points. Founded in 1936, the ICA is one of the oldest non-profit institutions devoted exclusively to the presentation of contemporary art. Through a comprehensive schedule of exhibitions of local, national and international significance and educational outreach, the museum provides the public access to contemporary art, artists and the creative process. www.icaboston.org. ICA Boston “Ric and I are honored to have been selected to design the new ICA at Fan Pier, and we are grateful to the museum for looking beyond the “usual suspects” and providing us with this extraordinary opportunity,” says Elizabeth Diller. “This will be a pivotal project in our career. We are eager to begin working in partnership with the ICA to develop a concept for this provocative and challenging waterfront site and to create a unique building that rethinks traditional materials and explores new technologies, shaping the future while also respecting the rich heritage of Boston.” Diller+Scofidio, founded in 1979, is a collaborative interdisciplinary design team who incorporate architecture and cultural theory with design, performance and electronic media. Partners Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio are respected architectural academics and practitioners, as well as the first architects to receive a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant. Diller+Scofidio arcspace features