ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Not entirely applicable but I thought I would send this new book description
on. No doubt, they are highlight museums that cost a large fortune to build
and are designed by the leaders in architecture but I love Phaidon and
Taschen books and expect this will be quite a gem. If our science museums
were designed like this we'd surely increase visitors... sadly
superficialities carry a lot of weight these days. Amanda


New Museums
by Raul A Barrenche
http://www.phaidon.com/phaidon/2.asp?displayproduct.asp?id=2224

about the book
The lead article in the October 2004 issue of Architectural Record, devoted
to contemporary museums, noted that "museums continue to proliferate across
the international landscape, leading to the conclusion that, post-Bilbao,
every municipality seems to want a smash." Certainly, following the opening
of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, museums gained a newfound cache
among architects and clients. The mission and purpose of the museum is
rapidly evolving: museums today are frequently more than repositories for
historical art: they can be research centers, memorials, contemporary
galleries, or site-specific artworks in themselves. New Museums documents
the best of new museum design and features 27 projects in 13 countries in
Europe, the United States, Israel, and Japan. The architects represented are
among the most renowned practitioners in the world today; in addition to
those mentioned above, they include van Berkel + Bos, Santiago Calatrava,
Zaha Hadid, Kengo Kuma, and Alvaro Siza, as well as lesser-known, talented
designers such as Zvi Hecker in Israel and Diener & Diener in Switzerland.

An illustrated general introduction discusses well-known historical
precedents as well as current themes relevant to museum design: the museum
as a neutral container, its role in placing art in context, the museum as an
addition to an existing building, and as a distinct work of art.

Each project is thoroughly documented with color photographs, plans,
drawings, and a project description.

table of contents
Introduction . Museum of Hiroshige Ando, Japan (Kengo Kuma) . Horiyuji
Treasures Gallery, Tokyo (Yoshio Taniguchi) . Paper Art Museum, Japan
(Shigeru Ban) . Het Valkhof Museum, The Netherlands (van Berkel + Bos) .
Seralves Museum, Portugal (Alvaro Siza) . Rosenthal Center for Contemporary
Art, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (Zaha Hadid) . Liner Museum, Switzerland
(Gigon/Guyer) . Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
(Tadao Ando) . Schaulager, Basel (Herzog + de Meuron) . Palmach Museum of
History, Tel Aviv (Zvi Hecker) . Nizayama Forest Art Museum, Tokyo (Lapeña &
Torres) . O Museum, Japan (Kazuyo Sejima/SANAA . Altamira Museum, Spain
(J.N. Baldeweg) . Museo de Bellas Artes, Spain (Mansilla + Tuñon) . Vulcania
Museum, France (Hans Hollein) . Great Court, British Museum, London (Foster
+ Partners) . Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, The Netherlands (Abel Cahen) .
Centre PasquArt, Switzerland (Diener & Diener) . Museum of Modern Art,
Vienna (Ortner & Ortner) .
Milwaukee Art Museum addition, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (Santiago
Calatrava) . Kiasma Museum, Helsinki, Finland (Steven Holl) . Imperial War
Museum North, Manchester, UK (Daniel Libeskind) . River and Rowing Museum,
UK (David Chipperfield) . Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, USA (Renzo
Piano) . Jewish Museum, Berlin (Daniel Libeskind) . Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria
(Peter Cook) . American Folk Art Museum, New York, USA (Williams + Tsien) .
Endmatter


about the author
Raul A. Barreneche, a New York-based editor and critic, has been writing
about architecture and design for more than ten years. A former executive
editor at Architecture, he writes regularly for The New York Times. He is
currently a contributing editor to Metropolitan Home, Travel + Leisure, and
Architectural Record, and has written for Dwell, House Beautiful, ID, ELLE
Décor, Interior Design, Wallpaper, and other publications. Barreneche is
co-author of House: American Houses for the New Century, and author of
Tropical Modern.

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