“Much more than a museum”, the Walker Art Center offers an 350 seat auditorium for dance, theatre and concerts as well as a new café, restaurant, shops, space for special events and a “garden lounge”. The designers describe it as a “lantern” and a “confused vision of a solid, translucent and transparent body ”, thanks to the “skin” which will cover the new building: a white back lit fabric suspended amidst thousands of waves to a metal skeleton.
Alongside the Basle office – represented by Jacques Herzog and Christine Binswanger and with local architects Minneapolis practice Hammel, Green and Abrahamson – French landscape architect Michel Desvigne and lighting designer Arnold Chan from London have been added to the team. James Turrell will be responsible for creating an open air sculpture and meditation centre. The next step will be in June when construction of the underground car park will begin, whilst the laying of the foundation stone for the new building is planned for Spring 2003. The building is due to open in 2005.
http://www.walkerart.org
