Article published February 02, 2002
Artists hope new museum becomes a clear winner
Architects Kazuyo Sejima, left, and Ryue Nishizawa of Tokyo hope their planned glass museum will meld trees and the arts.
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BY REBEKAH SCOTT
BLADE STAFF WRITER
It's see-through. It glows. It wants to lay low among a grove of trees on Monroe Street and bare its glass to passersby.
Toledo Museum of Art yesterday unveiled plans for The Center for Glass, a 57,600 square-foot home for its famous glass collection and glass-making workshops.
On the surface, it is utterly simple. Judging by drawings, models, and the architects' latest works, it's designed to be a pavilion in a park, a misty glass jewel-box standing 15 feet tall.
It is a marked contrast to the ornamented brick and wood Victorian mansions in adjacent Old West End blocks - or the steely Deconstructionist sculpture of the Frank Gehry-designed Center for the Visual Arts across the street.
"We hope to make this a big, beautiful park, a combination of the trees and the art," said architect Kazuyo Sejima.
The Toledo Museum of Art's proposed Center for Glass is intended to be a pavilion, a misty glass jewel-box in the woods.
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"We don't want the building to stand out. We want it to be part of this very green atmosphere. Low, simple, and flat," added Ryue Nishizawa, Ms. Sejima's partner.
"The outside walls will be glass. The inside walls? Mostly glass," Ms. Sejima said. "That's the answer to most questions."
The 41,300 square-foot ground level will house foyers, a small café, two glassworking studios with four small "glory hole" furnaces apiece, an office, and displays of thousands of glass objects. Three courtyards will punctuate the interior, provide natural light to a lower level, and give visitors views of even more trees, said museum director Roger Berkowitz.
The new building will increase fivefold the space presently available to display the museum's vast glass collection. Visitors will see many contemporary glass pieces the museum never before had room to exhibit, said Davira Taragin, curator of contemporary crafts.
Outside walls that face nearby homes will be opaque, but for a wide window with a view of the glass museum-pieces displayed inside. The glassmaking activities and café will face Monroe Street. At night, the furnaces will send out a soft glow from the studio within. In the daytime, visitors and workers will be semi-visible from outside. Depending on the light, the glass walls will reflect the trees nearby. No utility units will mar the opaque sweep of flat roof.
A 16,300 square-foot underground level will house more workshops, storage areas, wiring, and plumbing, heating, and air conditioning equipment. The building's Dumpsters and loading docks will be tucked underground, with a driveway tunnel entrance off Parkwood Avenue.
The architects and museum officials presented the plans to a parade of board members, museum employees, international building consultants, and journalists at the museum.
Later, the plans were presented to the Old West End Historic Commission at a special meeting. Toledoans can attend a public information session at 10:30 a.m. today at the museum's Green Room.
Even in planning stages, the Toledo project is attracting international attention. The plans will be featured in the March edition of Japan Architect magazine.
Andy Klemmer, project director, oversaw construction at Frank Gehry's masterpiece Guggenheim Bilbao, and is working with stars such as Rafael Moneo and Renzo Piano on projects in Rhode Island and New York. He said he jumped at the chance to direct the Toledo project.
"This design is exquisite," he said. "This is a real challenge for engineers. It's so transparent. There's no place to hide, no runs for the electricity and ductwork. It's so clear and simple, it will be complex to build. So many top people are going to want a part in this."
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