Coop Himmelb(l)au - Akron Art Museum

Competition winners
Coop Himmelb(l)au
Akron Art Museum
Akron, Ohio

View the completed Akron Art Museum in new arcspace feature.

Last Fall Coop Himmelb(l)au won the competition for the 50,000 square foot addition to the Akron Art Museum. The building, slated to break ground in 2003, will be built adjacent to the existing museum, an Italian Renaissance building built in 1899 as a post office.

Drawing courtesy Coop Himmelb(l)au
South High Street Elevation

The museum design introduces the firm's unique approach to historic structures, pioneered in Vienna, to the United States. With the Akron Art Museum design, Coop Himmelb(l)au have proposed to intersect the new building and the old in a dynamic and intimate physical relationship that brings them together as one.

Photo: Marcus Pillhofer

“The concepts of museums have changed radically since the miracle chamber ("Wunderkammer") of Rudolf the founder ("Rudolf der Stifter") in the 15th century.

The museum of today is not any longer only the storage of knowledge, it is an urban concept. The museum of the future is a three-dimensional sign in the city, which transports the content of our visual world. There are nor longer showrooms, which show digital and analogue visual information in the most diverse forms, but also the spaces which cater to urban experiences.

This means that art should be able to flow out of the building and the city should be able to flow inside. This zone of leakage becomes a hybrid space where different kinds of people can meet and unexpected events can occur. Rather than going to the museum simply to look at art, visitors are welcomed to engage in artistic discourse, attend music and arts festivals, or maybe just hang out on their way elsewhere. Our design is therefore an urban connector as well as a destination point.”
Coop Himmelb(l)au

The building is broken up into 3 parts: the Crystal, the Gallery-Box, and the Roof Cloud.

Photo: Marcus Pillhofer

The Crystal signifies main entry and operates as a space for orientation and accessing public functions in the new and old buildings such as the auditorium, classrooms, library, café and bookstore. It is a grande, flexible space that can also be used for fundraising banquets, arts festivals, and possibly events hosted by outside organizations or businesses. The traditional concept of a banquet hall as and exclusive space dissolves away into a visible, public experience.

Photo: Marcus Pillhofer

Similarly, the Gallery-Box is a simultaneous space, operating both as a large, flexible exhibition space and as an expansive, flowing Urban Sculpture Park. The idea of Sculpture Park as supplement is replaced by an imperative to re-integrate interior and exterior modes of viewing art. The formal mutations in the Urban Sculpture Park allow for pedestrian movement over the building form the Art, but more importantly create an artificial landscape where people can gather and enjoy art from an elevated position in the city.

Photo: Marcus Pillhofer

The inside of the Gallery Box is an independent space which is highly controllable and changeable, similar to a movie studio. It is one unified space with long span structure that can be built out freely based on the needs of each exhibit. Large scale works can be easily transported throughout the space via a warehouse delivery gate on the street level and a large freight elevator from the art preparation areas below. There is no natural light in the space to allow for maximum flexibility in the exhibit design and 100% controlled light zones for video and multimedia arts.

Photo: Marcus Pillhofer

The Roof Cloud hovers above the building, creating a blurred envelope for the museum. It encloses interior space, provides shade in exterior spaces, and also operates as a horizontal landmark in the city. It is visible from Akron's main downtown boulevard (South Main) as well as from the Convention Center and beyond. Museum events, such as live music and outdoor banquets can be hosted underneath the Roof Cloud in the Urban Sculpture Park and in the Event Space on the ground level.

Ultimately, Coop Himmelb(l)au's design will increase outdoor space at the museum from 14,000 square feet to 63,000 square feet.

Image courtesy Coop Himmelb(l)au

Coop Himmelb(l)au is one part of a three-part team in the design and construction of the new building. An Akron construction company will serve as the construction manager, while an Ohio Architect of Record will act as the executive architect on the project. The new Akron Art Museum will be the architect’s first public building in the United States.
In addition to the Akron Art Museum competition, Coop Himmelb(l)au has won two other international competitions recently: the Musée des Confluences (a science center in Lyon, France) and the BMW Event and Delivery Center in Germany.

Competition (1st Prize): 2001
Start of Planning: 2002
Scheduled Start of Construction: 2003
Scheduled Opening: 2005

Floor Area 7.300 square meters

Client:
Akron Art Museum, Ohio, USA

Planning:
Coop Himmelb(l)au
Wolf D. Prix Helmut Swiczinsky + Partner
Tom Wiscombe

Team:
Athanasios Anastopoulos
Christopher Beccone
Rodrigo Chavez
Sergio Gonzales
Lena Grohmann
Valerie Fischer
Angus Schoenberger
Michael Sims Jr.
Augustin Solrzano
Oliver Tessmann
Dionicio Valdez

Structural Engeineering:
Bollinger & Grohmann, Frankfurt, Germany

Cost Calculation:
Davis. Langdon, Adamson, USA

HVAC:
Pickl & Partner, Graz, Austria

June 10, 2002

Coop Himmelb(l)au arcspace features





				Features
		Competition winners Coop Himmelb(l)au Akron Art Museum Akron, Ohio View the completed Akron Art Museum in new arcspace feature. Last Fall Coop Himmelb(l)au won the competition for the 50,000 square foot addition to the Akron Art Museum. The building, slated to break ground in 2003, will be built adjacent to the existing museum, an Italian Renaissance building built in 1899 as a post office. Drawing courtesy Coop Himmelb(l)au South High Street Elevation The museum design introduces the firm's unique approach to historic structures, pioneered in Vienna, to the United States. With the Akron Art Museum design, Coop Himmelb(l)au have proposed to intersect the new building and the old in a dynamic and intimate physical relationship that brings them together as one. Photo: Marcus Pillhofer “The concepts of museums have changed radically since the miracle chamber ("Wunderkammer") of Rudolf the founder ("Rudolf der Stifter") in the 15th century. The museum of today is not any longer only the storage of knowledge, it is an urban concept. The museum of the future is a three-dimensional sign in the city, which transports the content of our visual world. There are nor longer showrooms, which show digital and analogue visual information in the most diverse forms, but also the spaces which cater to urban experiences. This means that art should be able to flow out of the building and the city should be able to flow inside. This zone of leakage becomes a hybrid space where different kinds of people can meet and unexpected events can occur. Rather than going to the museum simply to look at art, visitors are welcomed to engage in artistic discourse, attend music and arts festivals, or maybe just hang out on their way elsewhere. Our design is therefore an urban connector as well as a destination point.” Coop Himmelb(l)au The building is broken up into 3 parts: the Crystal, the Gallery-Box, and the Roof Cloud. Photo: Marcus Pillhofer The Crystal signifies main entry and operates as a space for orientation and accessing public functions in the new and old buildings such as the auditorium, classrooms, library, café and bookstore. It is a grande, flexible space that can also be used for fundraising banquets, arts festivals, and possibly events hosted by outside organizations or businesses. The traditional concept of a banquet hall as and exclusive space dissolves away into a visible, public experience. Photo: Marcus Pillhofer Similarly, the Gallery-Box is a simultaneous space, operating both as a large, flexible exhibition space and as an expansive, flowing Urban Sculpture Park. The idea of Sculpture Park as supplement is replaced by an imperative to re-integrate interior and exterior modes of viewing art. The formal mutations in the Urban Sculpture Park allow for pedestrian movement over the building form the Art, but more importantly create an artificial landscape where people can gather and enjoy art from an elevated position in the city. Photo: Marcus Pillhofer The inside of the Gallery Box is an independent space which is highly controllable and changeable, similar to a movie studio. It is one unified space with long span structure that can be built out freely based on the needs of each exhibit. Large scale works can be easily transported throughout the space via a warehouse delivery gate on the street level and a large freight elevator from the art preparation areas below. There is no natural light in the space to allow for maximum flexibility in the exhibit design and 100% controlled light zones for video and multimedia arts. Photo: Marcus Pillhofer The Roof Cloud hovers above the building, creating a blurred envelope for the museum. It encloses interior space, provides shade in exterior spaces, and also operates as a horizontal landmark in the city. It is visible from Akron's main downtown boulevard (South Main) as well as from the Convention Center and beyond. Museum events, such as live music and outdoor banquets can be hosted underneath the Roof Cloud in the Urban Sculpture Park and in the Event Space on the ground level. Ultimately, Coop Himmelb(l)au's design will increase outdoor space at the museum from 14,000 square feet to 63,000 square feet. Image courtesy Coop Himmelb(l)au Coop Himmelb(l)au is one part of a three-part team in the design and construction of the new building. An Akron construction company will serve as the construction manager, while an Ohio Architect of Record will act as the executive architect on the project. The new Akron Art Museum will be the architect’s first public building in the United States. In addition to the Akron Art Museum competition, Coop Himmelb(l)au has won two other international competitions recently: the Musée des Confluences (a science center in Lyon, France) and the BMW Event and Delivery Center in Germany. Competition (1st Prize): 2001 Start of Planning: 2002 Scheduled Start of Construction: 2003 Scheduled Opening: 2005 Floor Area 7.300 square meters Client: Akron Art Museum, Ohio, USA Planning: Coop Himmelb(l)au Wolf D. Prix Helmut Swiczinsky + Partner Tom Wiscombe Team: Athanasios Anastopoulos Christopher Beccone Rodrigo Chavez Sergio Gonzales Lena Grohmann Valerie Fischer Angus Schoenberger Michael Sims Jr. Augustin Solrzano Oliver Tessmann Dionicio Valdez Structural Engeineering: Bollinger & Grohmann, Frankfurt, Germany Cost Calculation: Davis. Langdon, Adamson, USA HVAC: Pickl & Partner, Graz, Austria June 10, 2002 Coop Himmelb(l)au arcspace features