| Cloepfil's Clyfford Still Museum Unveiled |
| Written by Ken Hamel | |
| Monday, 03 March 2008 | |
 Scale model of the new Brad Cloepfil/Allied Works Clyfford Still Museum, on display in the lobby of the DAM - Photos by Ken Hamel/DenverArts.org Architect Brad Cloepfil and the leadership of the Clyfford Still Museum today unveiled the design for the new building which is scheduled to break ground in 2009, followed by a 2010 grand opening. The structure will house the bulk of the of the world renown, but possessive abstract expressionist painter's "oooovrah" (to quote one of the many Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper quips), with the Mayor placing the value of the over 2400 works in the collection at $2 Billion making this the largest bequest of artwork in US history. The presentation in the Denver Art Museum's Sharp Auditorium was well attended, and after the perfunctory back patting by Mayor Hick, Still Museum Chairman of the Board Chris Hunt and Museum Director Dean Sobel (who referred to the institution as the "King Tut's tomb of our time"), the lights were dimmed for Brad Cloepfil's PowerPoint tour through the process of creating the space. I had seen Cloepfil's pitch when the Denver chapter of the American Institute of Architects invited the three finalists to present their ideas for the structure, and his initial slides covered similar nebulous ground along the lines of "one body given life by light" but the pace quickened with the addition of many engaging conceptual drawings, eventually leading way to the climax, a two-story, highly textured work of porous, ribbed stone fronted by a courtyard of trees. The building has a bunker-like presence, a comrade to Geo Ponti's prairie fort and a counterweight to Daniel Libeskind's boisterous titanium tower, however the slides did hint at an elegant stairway bathed in light, offering a bit of grace to an overall somber design. My biggest disappointment was the use of the building's textured finish on one of the key interior gallery walls as well as the gallery ceiling; I just don't understand how such upstaging of the core mission of an arts institution by architects is tolerated, and offer up Jonathan Hess' wonderful 2005 addition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art as a required tour stop for board members evaluating museum space. The IMA's expansion soars with seemingly unlimited ceilings, open space and abundant light, a humble servant to a world class collection of modern and contemporary art. The local news was quick on the draw with initial reports based on a press conference earlier in the day, and articles hit the wire by early afternoon, several hours before the 5:00 PM public presentation (links below), however by late evening, the typically non-existent reader feedback within the Denver Post's Arts section was abuzz with mostly unflattering commentary (one note refers to the design as a "$33 million retaining wall"). Armchair quarterbacking aside, in the early 1990s I thought the Ponti building was a travesty, but it has grown on me over the years and I now consider it a local treasure; I'm willing to give Cloepfil's stone arc some time, as at the very least, the design does give the Still collection ample light to shine. Click here for pictures from the unveiling Rocky Mountain News/Mary Chandler: Natural light key to design of Clyfford Still Museum Denver Post/Kyle McMillan: Design unveiled for Clyfford Still Museum Architectural Record/David Hill: Cloepfil Unveils Design for Clyfford Still Museum Mary Voelz Chandler's RMN commentary on the new Clyfford Still Museum: "Still museum must stand for quality" Michael Paglia's Westword commentary on the design for the new museum: "Still Moving" 2nd photo, left to right: Dean Sobel (Director of the Still Museum), Dennis Humphries (Denver Architecture Foundation), Brad Cloepfil, Chirs Hart (Chairman of the Board of the Still Museum) Photos by Ken Hamel/DenverArts.org             (Press Release) Clyfford Still Museum Unveils Design for FUTURE HOME  Interior rendering of the Clyfford Still Museum’s future home, scheduled to open in 2010, by Allied Works Architecture. A beautifully crafted wood staircase will lead visitors from the entrance and lobby area to the gallery floor on the second level. DENVER, CO. - The Clyfford Still Museum today unveiled the design for its future 31,500-square-foot home in Denver, scheduled to open to the public in 2010. Created by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, the design reflects the institution’s mission to preserve, present, and celebrate the work of this legendary American artist. The building will provide intimate, architecturally compelling spaces for the study and enjoyment of the museum’s extraordinary collection, which encompasses some 2,400 works spanning Clyfford Still’s career and is one of the most comprehensive single-artist holdings in the world. With groundbreaking expected to begin in early 2009, the Clyfford Still Museum will be the latest addition to Denver’s burgeoning cultural landscape. Sited adjacent to the Denver Art Museum’s new Frederic C. Hamilton Building, the museum will further enhance the cultural and architectural dialogue within the city’s arts district. “Brad Cloepfil has created a compelling design that reveals a deep understanding of our goals and collection needs as a single-artist institution,” said Dean Sobel, director of the Clyfford Still Museum. “The museum will provide intimate spaces that shape visitor experience and encourage further engagement with the life and work of Clyfford Still, one of the greatest American painters of the twentieth century.” The two-story museum will accommodate a series of light-filled galleries on its upper level, designed specifically to display Still’s work and to provide an optimal viewing experience for the visitor. Education facilities, including a library and archives as well as educational videos and interactive kiosks, will provide supplemental resources and detailed information about the life and work of Clyfford Still. In addition, glass walls will allow visitors access to view works in the museum’s onsite conservation laboratory and storage area. “It’s an exciting moment for the City, as we move one step closer to the opening of the Clyfford Still Museum,” said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. “The design by Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works conveys respect for the artist and an understanding of his works. The Clyfford Still Museum will be a wonderful addition to Denver’s rich cultural and architectural landscape. It will strengthen Denver’s place as an international destination for everyone interested in twentieth-century art.” Building Design - The design for the Clyfford Still Museum envisions a dense, cantilevered, two-story structure, unified through the use of a single building material—a highly textured and resurfaced concrete, designed to modify light on both the exterior and interior of the museum. The 31,500-square-foot building will receive the full benefits of daylight, which will be filtered into the museum through a clerestory on the second floor. The textured concrete walls will diffuse, refract, and capture natural light in the museum galleries, and will give the building a visceral, tactile quality on the outside. Visitors will approach the museum through a landscaped forecourt, which provides a transition from the city to the experience of viewing the art inside. A cantilevered canopy of concrete, extending 10 x 120 feet from underneath the second floor and forming the structure of the second-floor galleries, will draw visitors from the forecourt into the museum’s lobby and reception area. The first floor will also accommodate the library, conservation studio, collection storage, and administrative offices. Connecting these facilities and visitor amenities is an open, double-high corridor, offering glimpses of the artwork in the galleries above and views for visitors on the second floor into the study areas below. This open corridor, which will also include educational facilities, speaks to the institution’s founding principle of unveiling this once-private and very personal collection to the public. It also lends transparency to the museum experience as visitors are invited to explore elements that are not traditionally seen by the general public. A beautifully crafted wooden staircase will lead visitors to the museum’s second floor, which features a series of eleven distinct galleries, totaling approximately 10,000 square feet, including an orientation space at the top of the staircase. Visitors will move counter-clockwise throughout the galleries, tracing the chronology of Still’s career as they progress. Each gallery is varied to respond to specific aspects and needs of the collection, which encompasses small works on paper as well as Still’s large-scale paintings in his signature Abstract Expressionist style. The rooms will have varying proportions and different ceiling heights, ranging from 14 feet to 18 feet, which will be echoed on the exterior in differing rooflines. A raised ceiling or clerestory will diffuse natural light into the galleries, providing variegated tonalities of light from room to room. The building will create a powerful viewing experience for visitors, enlivened by natural light and a sense of intimacy with the artwork. Capital Campaign - To date, the Clyfford Still Museum has raised more than $17 million in its $33-million capital campaign for the design and construction of its new home. Alongside the capital campaign, the museum has raised $5 million in a separate campaign for its endowment. In addition, the museum has garnered $2.7 million in support of its current operations and conservation of the collection. In total, the museum has raised nearly $25 million thanks to enthusiastic support from foundations, individuals, and government agencies. |
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