Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum
Zaha Hadid Architects

November 27, 2012 /

East Lansing, Michigan, USA

 Photo: Paul Warchol

The design of the Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum, located at the northern edge of the Michigan State University campus, is influenced by a set of movement paths that traverse and border the site.

Generating two dimensional planes from these lines of circulation and visual connections, the formal composition of the museum is achieved by folding these planes in three-dimensional space to define an interior landscape which brings together and negotiates the different pathways on which people move through and around the site.

 Photo: Iwan Baan

Detailed investigations and research into the landscape, topography and circulation of the site, enabled us to ascertain and understand these critical lines of connection. By using these lines to inform the design, the museum is truly embedded within its unique context of Michigan State University, maintaining the strongest relationship with its surroundings.
/Zaha Hadid Architects

Photo: Paul Warchol

Photo: Iwan Baan

This dialogue of interconnecting geometries describes a series of spaces that offer a variety of adjacencies; allowing many different interpretations when designing exhibitions. Through this complexity, curators can interpret different leads and connections, different perspectives and relationships.

Photo: Iwan Baan

The outer skin echoes these different directions and orientations - giving the building an ever-changing appearance that arouses curiosity yet never quite reveals its content. This open character underlines the museum's function as a cultural hub for the community.

Drawing courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects 
Site Plan