A few weeks ago, the Clark Art Institute held a press breakfast here in New York announcing the final phase of its expansion project. Admittedly, I’ve never made the trek up to the Berkshires, where the museum is situated, but I am surely tempted now. The Clark’s project brings together three major names of the architecture world: Pritzker Prize–winning Tadao Ando, Annabelle Selldorf, and landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand. The expansion isn’t due for completion for another two years, but until then, the institute has offered a preview of what these powerhouses are doing for the campus.
Osaka-based Ando is behind the new Visitor, Exhibition, and Conference Center, which will become the new main entrance and, thus, the first visitor encounter. Key design highlights include a light-filled glass concourse connecting the original museum to the new center; a massive reflecting pool (designed with Hilderbrand); a cafe/dining zones; and a multipurpose pavilion for installations or special events.
At first glance, one might find the minimalist center to be too simple or ordinary, but when I look back at Ando’s previous works (e.g. Water Temple and Church of Light, both in Japan), I’m reminded of Louis Kahn, whose Philips Exeter Academy library in New Hampshire alerted me to the fact that there was such a thing as “architecture” in my teenage years. Works such as these are all cerebral to me, as compositions one needs to experience first-hand to be stirred and moved. My hope is that, when viewing the new center and its reflecting pool, it’ll be as contemplative and spiritual an experience.
Selldorf is perhaps best known around here as the architect who gorgeously updated the Neue Galerie, as well as created the library-chic aesthetic of Abercrombie & Fitch stores that continue to pack in young fashionista crowds. Her role in this expansion is a renovation of the original museum building that will add more than 5,400 square feet of gallery space.
Here she’s showing some restraint so as to not disrupt the Clark’s original atmosphere. Of note will be new galleries for decorative arts that will offer intimate scale and residential-like finishes that complement decorative objects and furnishings. Selldorf is also leading the renovation of the institute’s Manton Research Center, a 1970’s structure that houses a library and administrative offices; her design will add a public courtyard-style reading room, bookstore, and coffee bar.
Hilderbrand’s plan for the 140-acre campus calls for a sweeping landscape design that’s environmentally sensitive. The main attraction will be the tiered reflecting pool, done in collaboration with Ando, which can be crossed via footbridge. The pool also acts as a reservoir, harvesting stormwater for reuse in plumbing and irrigation. Two miles of walking trails will provide greater and managed access to the site’s meadows, woodlands, and streams, and trail markers will inform visitors of the area’s geological features or conservation initiatives.
All images courtesy of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
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