MUSEUMS in the 21st Century

By Henning Høholt, text and photos.

On the photo from the Athen museum,  from left to right: Nikos Georgiadis, Tota Mamalaki,  Eva Madshus, she is from The Oslo National Museum of Art and Architecture, and Kostas Kakoyiannis of Anamorphosis Architects.

Modell Photos: Art Centre Basel

The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Artcraft is again presenting a hit in Oslo. This time it is a very interesting and inspiring exhibition presenting remarkable museum projects from Europe, USA and Japan. 

At the exhibiton 27 museums are presented in the exhibiton hall at Tullinløkka (European part) and at the Architecture museum (USA and Japan part) are exposed models pictures, scetches to much inspiration. At a cros section of the most interesting and seminal musum nuilding projects planned, finished or in progress between 2000 and 2010. The selected projects are representatives for new and/or established architectural tendencies or types.

All 27 projects are presented carefully selected models, photographs, as well as animation and DVDs. Specially now, when Oslo is having two large cultural building projects out, for the Munch Museum, planed to open 12.12.2013, and for Deichmanske Library. Furtheron the new Astrup Fearnley Museumm at Tjuvholmen, expected to open in 2012. Mostly of them has been a reality, but a few are still at the project stadium or under planning. The exhibition is representing many different types of museums and in very different surroundings.

One of the best represented and the most informative installations at the exhibition at Tullinløkka, is the presentation of The Museum of the Hellenic World, Athens, Greece done by Anamorphosis Architects. With a great model, as you see on the photos, and posters presenting the idea concept they are building and their ideas for this combination of several museums centraly located in Athen. Which I am shure is of big inspiration for the audiance visiting the National Museum in Oslo, and in cityes and other parts of the world, which this exhibition is touring to. Anamorphosis Architects were in Oslo represented by Nikos Georgiadis, Tota Mamalaki, and Kostas Kakoyiannis. http://www.anamorphosis-architects.com/index.html#

Special attention in the exhibition is given to the major project of the Museumsinsel Berlin. A whole group of architects and designers is working on the restoration and reorganisation of the museum island. The redesign of the museum island is closely connected with the history of each individual building. Allthough each of the museums will keep its individual entrance, the museum island is made accessible by an "archeological promenade", and is therefore experienced as a unit. The preliminary new entrance building will become the central entry point and contains the whole infrastructure that is lacking in theindividual museums. - Only to mention one of the diversity of the included projects.  

Many famouse star architects are represented, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Daniel Liebeskind, Tadao Ando, Jean Nouvel, UN Studio, David Schipperfield, Steven Holl, and Renzo Piano, the three last names are actual with museums projects in  Norway.

The idea and concept: Suzanne Greub and Thierry Greub, The Art Centre Basel. In Oslo Eva Madshus is responsible for how it is presented.  

Museums in the 21st Century: Concepts, Projects, Buildings will present the most important trends in museum architecture, illustrated by 26 of the world’s leading museum building projects realized since the turn of the century, thereby documenting the increasing international exchange. All projects will be represented by a carefully made selection of sketches and architectural plans, photographs and models, as well as multimedia displays. The exhibition will be held for 10- to 12-week periods per venue.
The exhibition will tour twelve cities in nine countries from 2006 to 2010. The European tour starts in March 2006, followed by a North American tour beginning February 2009.

selected architects
Anamorphosis Architects, Tadao Ando, Jun Aoki, Shigeru Ban, Mario Botta, Stephan Braunfels, David Chipperfield, Brad Cloepfil, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Denton Corker Marshall Group, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Frank O. Gehry, Annette Gigon / Mike Guyer, Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl, Kisho Kurokawa, Daniel Libeskind, Fumihiko Maki, Jean Nouvel, Piano Renzo, Spacelab, Peter Cook / Colin Fournier, Taniguchi and Associates, Bernard Tschumi,, UN Studio, Ben van Berkel / Caroline Bos, Rafael Vi

CATALOGUE

The catalogue for Museums in the 21st Century, concepts, projects, buildings is published in the language of the respective museum countries of this travelling exhibition, and here in Oslo, of course with a delicious catalogue in Norwegian language, which can be bougt in the Museum shops. The catalogue is edited by the Art Centre Basel and published by Prestel Publishing, Munich.

The international travelling exhibition has been inaugurated in April 2006 at the K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf and is anticepted to travel, after several other venues in Europe and North America, to Australia and Japan. The exhibition has earlier been presented in Copenhagen.

I do hope that this presentation will be a great inspiration for the architects, and for all other people interested in new muesum ideas. Some controversial and some with more classical ideas behind.