In the words of Jerry Saltz à la Nina Simone, “It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. It’s a new life” for the Whitney Museum of American Art. The museum reopens its doors in its new, hip, Meatpacking location May 1, 2015.
Old vs New Whitney Museum of American Art, Marcel Breuer 1966 vs Renzo Piano 2015.
The man behind the redesign is Renzo Piano, an architect hailing from Genoa, Italy. He has been the creative force behind numerous projects around the world, won too many awards to count, and established a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting architectural professions.
Renzo Piano, the man behind the building.
For a quick overview of Piano’s oeuvre, here is a compilation of previous works designed by his firm, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
Centre Georges Pompidou
Paris, France
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, 1971-1977.
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Genoa, Italy
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genoa, Italy, 1989-1991.
Reconstruction of the Atelier Brancusi
Paris, France
Reconstructed Atelier Brancusi, Paris, France, 1992-1996.
Zentrum Paul Klee
Bern, Switzerland
Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland, 1999-2005.
Renovation and Expansion of the Morgan Library
New York, U.S.A.
Renovation and Expansion of the Morgan Library, New York, U.S.A, 2000-2006
The New York Times Building
New York, U.S.A
The New York Times Building, New York, U.S.A, 2000-2007.
Renovation and Expansion of the Isabelle Stewart Gardener Museum
Boston, U.S.A.
Renovation and expansion of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, U.S.A, 2005-2012.
And of course,
The Whitney Museum at Gansevoort
New York, U.S.A.
The Whitney Museum at Gansevoort, New York, U.S.A, 2007-2015.
If you can’t make your way to New York, here’s a sneak peak into the museum’s inaugural exhibition, America is Hard to See.
What’s your take on the move downtown, the new architecture, and the future of the Whitney in general? Let us know in the comments!
*All images sourced from http://www.rpbw.com/, where you can see a ton of other awesome projects by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.