KimbellbrArt Museum unveils dynamic new building
For four decades, the Kimbell building has left its own impression onbrvisitors, garnering arguably more fame than priceless works of art it housed.brDesigned by the great Louis I. Kahn, the museum comprised several vaultedbrbuildings containing a natural-light system that bathed the upper art galleriesbrin an ethereal light — a system without peer in the history of architecture.
But as imposing as the museum's exteriorbrmight seem, it lacked the space necessary to serve the growing number ofbrvisitors and to show the museum's expanding permanent collection. Fort Worthbrart lovers and leaders have long pondered the Kimbell question: How to expand abrcultural treasure given that the building it is housed in is a work of artbritself?
The leaders of the Kimbell approachedbrfamed architect Renzo Piano to see if he would be up to the task. He had builtbra strong reputation for building on existing work with respect to the original,brhaving designed acclaimed extensions and additions for other famed buildings. Yetbrrather than design such an expansion or addition, he opted to create an entirelybrnew building. The $137 million Piano Pavilion, home to the Kimbell's Asian Artbrcollection as well as visiting collections, opened to the public late last year.br
Above ground, the building sits oppositebrthe front of the original building but is obscured by elm trees. It appears tobrbe two buildings linked by a glass-enclosed walkway, topped by abrlight-filtering lattice. The visible buildings, however, are just one-quarterbrof the whole structure; the rest is buried underground. Ensuring the 100,000-square-foot building did not impose on Kahn's workbrwas only one motivation for this subsurface move; the other was to create abrsustainable building that utilized fewer resources.
The natural-light filters on the roofbrcapture the sunlight in such a way to create even lighting throughout the exhibitionbrspaces. The roof contains not only solar panels to provide electricity for thebrbuilding but also a sod feature that collects rainwater for the building'sbrnon-potable needs.
Visitors can enjoy the two buildings inbrdialogue, visiting the expanded installation of the museum's permanentbrcollection or by taking in the current travelling exhibition: The Age of Picasso and Matisse, Modern Mastersbrfrom the Art Institute of Chicago, on display until Feb. 16.