Things that make exhibition spaces powerful are not just their sense grandeur and gravity (sometimes even the sublime), but also the ways they engage with the public, surrounding environment, and adapt to the needs of the space.
One recent museum experience that stands out to me is the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston. I really like how the building engages with its site and environment; the ICA cantilevers over the exterior stairs/stands almost touching the water and engages with and creates an institutional, public space for anyone, not just museum goers, to experience. I also loved how the interior of the building framed the views of the harbor; there’s a hallway in the gallery space that opens up to the views of the Atlantic, a way to connect the gallery spaces with the outside. The ICA also has a ground/city level theater/performance/event space that can open or close up depending on the needs of the space. I appreciated the flexibility of the space to house a variety of programs and grapple with the relation of an institutional, and sometimes inaccessible, space with the public.
Another museum experience I enjoyed was the courtyard in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and its modern extension by Renzo Piano. The space is infamous for its indoor courtyard, and visiting on a cold Boston winter afternoon it was refreshing to experience the green and vegetation, creating a sense of enclosure and intimacy in an institutional setting. I also found Piano’s extension of the museum utilizing more modern materials such as glass and the incorporation of materials found in the old building a thoughtful way to integrate the old and the new. Its theater (Calderwood Hall) is also very interesting because it feels like a subversion of the traditional hierarchy of performer/exhibition and audience, where the audience overlooks the performance from terraced balconies. Like the ICA, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and its variety of spaces allow the museum to do more than just exhibit its works.
Finally, this is not a space I have experienced myself, but I appreciate the way it challenges traditional notions of a theater/exhibition space and utilizes reused materials in an existing space to become something new. Lina Bo Bardi’s Teatro Oficina in Sao Paolo uses scaffolding in its interior to create a unique space of performance. The space feels flexible and fluid, in a constant state of change but also able to adapt to whatever use necessary.
