Concrete is often seen as heavy and blunt. The eight concrete art galleries in this roundup use it to shape light, sound and movement around art. They range from a large museum extension in Los Angeles to a small pavilion in Maryland built for one sculptor.
For a softer take on the material, Okinawa’s seamless concrete home blending with nature shows how concrete can blend into everyday living.
The projects include work by architects who have won the Pritzker Prize, among them Peter Zumthor, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Tadao Ando and David Chipperfield Architects.
Concrete art galleries worth visiting
The David Geffen Galleries, USA
Among the most ambitious concrete art galleries in the roundup, the David Geffen Galleries curve through the Los Angeles County Museum of Art like a long concrete ribbon. Swiss architect Peter Zumthor wrapped the form in glass, so the building reads as both solid and open.
The gallery lifts off the street and spans Wilshire Boulevard. Seven structural pavilions hold it up. They are spaced unevenly along the footprint, which gives the underside a loose, irregular rhythm.
Zumthor trained as a cabinet maker, following his father’s trade in Basel, Switzerland. He opened his own practice in 1979 in Haldenstein, a small village where his studio still operates. His Kolumba museum in Cologne expresses the continuity of history from Roman times by making use of a ruined area.
Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, Portugal
Two pyramid-like chimneys mark Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Cascais, Portugal. Eduardo Souto de Moura designed the building to display the works of painter Paula Rego.
Red-concrete walls enclose the interior. Inside, the rooms are sized for different kinds of work, from small lithographs to large-scale paintings. Each space responds to the artwork it holds.
Xiao Feng Art Museum, China
ZAO/standardarchitecture, a Chinese studio, built the Xiao Feng Art Museum in Hangzhou. The angular concrete building loops around a central courtyard.
The museum honors the artist couple Xiao Feng and Song Ren. Its walls rise and dip to create openings. Visitors pass under bridge-like elements on the way to the courtyard.
Ground, South Korea
Tadao Ando placed a subterranean concrete dome beneath the grounds of Museum SAN in Wonju, South Korea. The dome houses a permanent installation by British sculptor Antony Gormley.
The cave-like space spans 25 metres. A central oculus opens above the room and looks down on the cast-iron sculptures below.
Nubuke Extended, Ghana
Nubuke Extended adds a single concrete gallery to the Nubuke Foundation in Ghana. Architect Baerbel Mueller and architectural designer Juergen Strohmayer raised the room above the ground. The space beneath becomes a shaded area for events and gatherings.
The gallery has high ceilings and a mezzanine level.
Richard Serra gallery, USA
At the Glenstone Museum in Maryland, the studio Thomas Phifer and Partners built a rectangular gallery for the sculptor Richard Serra. The walls and structure are cast-in-place concrete. The doors are stainless steel.
Daylight enters only through a series of skylights. The room is lit from above, which keeps the focus on the heavy, monumental works inside. Few concrete art galleries rely so fully on a single source of light.
For more on how overhead light can transform a space, Michael Jantzen’s sunlight-channeling visionary research facility offers a futuristic take on the same idea.
Anselm Kiefer Pavilion, Germany
Six years after completing the Carmen Würth Forum museum in Germany, David Chipperfield Architects returned to the same site. The firm added a monolithic concrete gallery built around one large-scale artwork.
The work is Schwarze Flocken by Anselm Kiefer. The artwork was once too big to exhibit at the museum. It now hangs on a wall in the pavilion, lit by rooflights.
Ginkgo Gallery, China
Dutch studio MORE Architecture designed the Ginkgo Gallery in Jiaxing. The museum stands on an island in a manmade lake. Its scooped concrete ceilings give the rooms a shifting, sculptural quality.
The building was designed as a response to China‘s boom of large-scale museums. Its board-marked concrete surfaces form horizontal patterns across the walls and roofs. The result is a quieter alternative to the country’s grander institutions.
Source: dezeen.com
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the David Geffen Galleries in Los Angeles?
Swiss architect Peter Zumthor designed the David Geffen Galleries, which curve through the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He wrapped the concrete form in glass, so the building reads as both solid and open.
What is inside the subterranean concrete dome at Museum SAN?
The dome houses a permanent installation by British sculptor Antony Gormley. The cave-like space spans 25 metres, and a central oculus opens above the room to look down on cast-iron sculptures below.
How does the Richard Serra gallery at Glenstone get its daylight?
Daylight enters the Richard Serra gallery only through a series of skylights, so the room is lit from above. The walls and structure are cast-in-place concrete, and the doors are stainless steel.
Who designed the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Portugal?
Eduardo Souto de Moura designed Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Cascais to display the works of painter Paula Rego. Red-concrete walls enclose the interior, and the rooms are sized for different kinds of work.
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