292,000 square-foot Nabisco box factory was converted into a museum for the Dia Art Foundation. Design and construction spanned four years, and the museum opened in May 2003. The project is the first major public building for art with Galia Solomonoff as a partner-in-charge.The project necessitated the transformation of both interior and exterior spaces to deliver a fully operational building for Dia. The original masonry structure, built in 1929, is comprised of several building types. Many of the existing spaces feature extensive skylight systems and industrial building technologies. The new program included the creation of permanent galleries for large-scale artworks, as well as a caf bookstore, educational and media facilities, and landscaped gardens. The project?s primary intention was to maximize the outstanding qualities of the existing architecture without imposing them upon the art. The optimized use of the existing skylights allowed the creation of a ?daylight-only? and environmentally sustainable contemporary museum. The artist Robert Irwin was instrumental in devising the entrance to the new museum as well as the design of the private gardens. Extensive collaboration with the living artists of Dia?s collection, as well as museum curator Lynne Cooke, allowed custom placement of artworks in accord with the vast building?s wide range of spaces.
View Original