1. Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)
Boston
• Architects: Diller + Scofidio
Collaborating Architects: Perry Dean Rogers &
Partners
Consultant Engineers: Arup Group LTD
Contractor: George B. H. Macomber Company
• Total area: 62,000 square feet
Gallery area: 18,000 square feet
Performing Arts Theater: 5,300 square feet
8. The FACADE alternate in composition between
MATERIALS TRANSPARENT TRANSLUCENT AND OPAQUE,
provides a SEAMLESS skin that BLURS the
distinction between WALLS, WINDOWS and
GALLERY DOORS while responding to INTERIOR
PROGRAM.
PUBLIC
GRANDSTAND THEATRE
WALKWAY
9. THE FLOOR AND
CEILING - THROUGH
THE EXTENSION _
WOOD HARBOUR
WALK MATERIAL
REMAINING _ CLEAR
GLASS - HARBOUR
VIEW - BACKDROP
CONTROLLED ACC TO
PERFORMANCE, FROM
TRANSPARENCY -
THEATER FILTERED LIGHT - NO
VIEW -BLACKOUT
The 62000square foot ICA, on fan pier in south Boston. The Boston harbor walk, a public pedestrian boardwalk, passes along the north and west sides of the building and metaphorically folds into the building to become part of the architecture. Integrates its waterfront site into the design, creating shifting views of the harbor throughout the museum.WALK folds into BUILDING INTEGRATES its WATERFRONT into the design & creating SHIFTING VIEWS of the harborStructure intersecting PEOPLE, ART AND IDEAS and securing the waterfront downtown as a major DESTINATION
A lenticular glass wall facing the harbor is a special feature of the Long Gallery, which spans the entire width of the north end of the exhibition space. Visitors walking along this lenticular glass wall are given the impression that the view is following their movement. Composed of microscopic vertical lenses, the glass permits vision out when viewed from a perpendicular direction but blocks vision when viewed from an angle.
Upon entry, the view is compressed under the belly of the theatre, used as a variable backdrop in the theatre, denied entirely in the galleries, and revealed as a panorama at the crossover gallery.
This walkway angles up from the ground into a public grandstand facing the water, then continues on to enfold the museum’s restaurant and theatre. 18000sq.ft. of gallery space is housed in a translucent sky lit box, placed over the “enfolded” spaces and cantilevered toward the water, sheltering the harbor walk.Their innovative work explores how space functions in our culture and how architecture affects social behaviour as much as it defines physical space. They attempt to make the conditions, the anonymous values and norms of the society visible, readable, audible and touchable.The facade of the new ICA consists of identically sized vertical planks that alternate in composition between transparent glass, translucent glass and opaque metal. The system provides a taught seamless skin that blurs the distinction between walls, windows and doors while responding to the requirements of the interior program.to make the CONDITIONS, the anonymous VALUES and NORMS of the society VISIBLE, READABLE, AUDIBLE and TOUCHABLE.
The floor and ceiling of the theater on the second and third floors is created through the extension of the wood HarborWalk material from the public grandstand into the interior of the building.The remaining walls are glazed in clear glass allowing the harbor view to become the backdrop behind the 48 foot stage. The glass walls can be controlled to meet performance needs, from full transparency, to filtered light and no view, to total blackout.
Suspended below the cantilever is the media center or mediatheque, a stepped space with an edited view of the harbor that reveals only the surface of the water. The digital media gallery suspended under the cantilever edits the context from view, leaving only the mesmerizing texture of water. The space provides a stunning perspective of the water, framed as though a viewfinder, with neither sky nor horizon in sight.