JKL Design

 

 

 

 

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

 

Once one enters the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, New York, they walk into a grand atrium with a continuous spiral ramp along the outer edges of the room. Rising 92 feet high to a large glass dome, the ramp allows visitors to view many works of art, without the need of steps or obstructions.

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Problems

The museum's interior walls are tilted as, according to Wright,  "on the artist's easel."  This idea turned out to be a bit of a problem for Wright; before the museum opened, 21 artists signed a letter to protest about displaying their works in such a fashion. To make matters worse, critics said the building's design actually competed with the art displayed. Wright also had problems with Manhattan's building-code; the code's administrators argued with him over several structural issues, one being the size of the glass dome. The dome had to be redesigned prior to the building's opening. Due to the complications of design, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum wouldn't open until 16 years from the start of construction, six months after the death of Wright.

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The Owner

Solomon R. Guggenheim was one of seven brothers from a New York family, with a financial empire based in mining. Guggenheim began collecting artwork in the 1920s. The Guggenheim Collection of Non-Objective Paintings opened in 1939, due to his ever-growing collection. In 1943 Wright was commissioned as the architect for a new museum. Ten years after Guggenheim's death in 1949, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened its doors to the public

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The Structure

It took nearly 700 tons of structural steel and 7,000 cubic feet of concrete to form the entire structure, as well as the outer facade of the museum. "Various subcontractors worked together to create the one-of-a-kind plywood forms that shaped the iconic sweeping curves of the building." The museum was constructed of gun-placed concrete, which is now known as "gunite." Gunite is sprayed into a plywood form, rather than poured. In a letter to George Cohen, the General Contractor in charge of the construction; Frank Lloyd Wright said he was not at all pleased by the current gunite finish. Wright wanted all exposed surfaces to be smoothed to a “sand finish surface” with the use of a coarse abrasive so the layering of concrete would not show through the painted exterior.

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Plywood frame for a section of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

 

 

 

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Plywood forms for interior concrete work.

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The Expansion

A 10-story tower was added, in 1992, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. During the expansion, the offices were moved underground so that the entire museum accessible to the public. The tower consists of four floors of galleries and a sculpture terrace on the fifth. These works are a part of the permanent collection.

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