GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

Architect:FrankLloydWright
Location:NewYork
Project Year:1943-1959
HISTORY-HistoryoftheGuggenheimMuseumbeganin1926whenSolomon
Guggenheim,amanofvastwealthmadeinminingandminerals,fellunderthe
influenceofHillaRebay,athirty-six-year-oldpainterandenthusiastoftwentiethcenturyEuropeanabstractart.Duringthefollowingdecade,Guggenheimcollected
avidlyandin1937establishedtheSolomonR.GuggenheimFoundation,an
institutionbywhichhiscollectionwasmadeavailabletothepublic.Beginningin
1939,thecollectionof700paintingswasexhibitedattheMuseumofNon-Objective
Paintingat24EastFifty-fourthStreet.InJune1943,HillaRebay,whohadbecome
thecuratorofthecollection,approachedFrankLloydWrightaboutthedesignofa
museumforthecollection.Wrightreadilyaccepteddespitethefactthatasitehad
notbeenpurchasedandconstructionwasunlikelyduringWorldWarII.
ABOUT-FrankLloydWrightcreatedtheGuggenheimMuseumasaseriesof
organicshapes.Circularformsspiraldownliketheinteriorofashell.Visitorstothe
museumbeginontheupperlevelandfollowaslopingrampdownwardthrough
connectedexhibitionspaces.Atthecore,anopenrotundaoffersviewsofartworkon
severallevels.SwellingouttowardsthecityofManhattan,theSolomonR.
GuggenheimMuseumwasthelastmajorprojectdesignedandbuiltbyFrankLloyd
Wrightbetween1943untilitopenedtothepublicin1959,sixmonthsafterhis
death,makingitoneofhislongestworksincreationalongwithoneofhismost
popularprojects.CompletelycontrastingthestrictManhattancitygrid,theorganic
curvesofthemuseumareafamiliarlandmarkforbothartlovers,visitors,and
pedestriansalike.
CONCEPT-Theconceptofthemuseumisthatvisitorsarrive,travelbyelevatorto
thetopofalongrampthatspiralsdowntothegroundlevel.Therampisthe
principal(thoughnottheonly)exhibitspaceandpermitsaneasedownwardstroll
pasttheworksofartthataredisplayedinlargebaysbetweenthestructuralplanes
thatsupportthedomeandramps.In1992themuseumbuiltanadditionthatwas
designedbyGwathmeySiegel&AssociatesArchitectsthatWrighthadoriginally
intended.ThearchitectsanalyzedWrightsoriginalsketchesandfromhisideas
theycreateda10-storylimestonetowerthathadflatwallsthatweremore
appropriateforthedisplayofart.

STRUCTURE DETAILS--Theentireprojectactuallyincorporatesthreetypesofconcrete.Lightweightexpanded-shaleconcreteisusedinthe
rampandfloors,whilestoneconcrete(alsoof3,500psistrength)hasbeenusedfortheinteriorwallstoassureasmoothfinish.Theouterwalls
wereformedbyspraying5inchesofconcreteagainstcurvedplywoodforms,thisworkbeinghandledfromtheinsideofthestructure.Inviewof
thefactthattheconcretestructurewasmostlyexposed,bothexteriorandinterior,andalsoinviewofthefactthattheshapesofthecomponent
partsweresounusual,greatcarehadtobeexercisedinthedesignanderectionoftheformwork.Thestructuraldesignfeaturesrigidslabswith
spansupto60feetandcantileversupto25feet,somewithhighlyconcentratedendloading.Themainrampcantilevers14feet6inchestothe
innercourtfroma13-inchdeeprigidexteriorbeamofvaryingwidths.Sincethegreaterwidthsoccuratthehigherlevels,theoverallwidthofthe
rampincreasesasitspiralsupward.Theinsideedgeofthespiralramp,whichcarriesa3-foothighplasterparapet,turnsonasmallerand
smallerradiusasitrisesupward.Similarlytheoutsideedgewhichcarriesthegunitecurtainwallturnsonagreaterandgreaterradiusasitrises
upward.Therelationshipbetweentheseconstantlychangingradiiandthegraduallyrisingplaneoftherampissoarrangedthatatanypointin
theheightofthestructureahorizontalplanewillalwaysintersectatruecircle.Thisistheresultofabasicpatternofshapes.Itisaconceptionof
alargecone(whoseapexistheoreticallysome180feetbelowdatumzero)intowhichisfittedaninvertedsmalleronewhoseapexis
theoreticallysome270feetabovedatumzero.Tolayoutthiscomplexstructurealllines,radialpointsandaxestiedintothisgridsystemina
precisepatternwhichgavethecomponentpartsofthestructureanorderlynaturalscheme.Intricateandbeautifullyformedconcretemembers,
becomingplantingareas,fountains,utilitycores,pipespaces,oversizecircularcolumns,archesandcantileveredbalconies,blendsmoothly
intothewholestructuresasthoughtheytrulybelongtoit,whichtheydo.
EXTERIOR-TheexterioroftheGuggenheimMuseumisastackedwhitecylinderofreinforcedconcreteswirlingtowardsthesky.The
museumsdramaticcurvesoftheexterior,however,hadanevenmorestunningeffectontheinterior.InsideWrightproposedonegreatspace
onacontinuousfloor,andhisconceptwasasuccess.Walkinginside,avisitorsfirstintakeisahugeatrium,rising92inheighttoanexpansive
glassdome.Alongthesidesofthisatriumisacontinuousrampuncoilingupwardssixstoriesformorethanone-quarterofamile,allowingfor
onefloortoflowintoanother.Therampalsocreatesaprocessioninwhichavisitorexperiencestheartdisplayedalongthewallsastheyclimb
upwardstowardsthesky.Thedesignofthemuseumasonecontinuousfloorwiththelevelsoframpsoverlookingtheopenatriumalsoallowed
fortheinteractionofpeopleondifferentlevels,enhancingthedesigninsection.

INTERIORS1. Rotunda-Therotunda,thedominantfeatureofthemuseum,takesthe
formofagiantspiral,aspringrisingfromthegroundfloorandcoiling
fivetimesaroundanopenrotundatoasky-litdome,oroculus,ninetyfivefeetabove.InWrightsconceptionofthebuilding,thespiralwasa
purecantilever,onecontinuouspiecefromtoptobottomwiththeramp
integralwiththeexteriorwallandtheinteriorbalconywall.
2. Bridge-Thebridgewasoriginallyaccessiblefromboththegalleryand
themonitorandfeaturedgardenspaces;thesurfaceisalsointerrupted
byskylightslightingthelobby.Thespaceunderthebridgebetweenthe
rotundaandthemonitoroncetheentrancedriveandnowenclosed
containsthebookstoreandprovidesaccesstothemuseumsoriginal
circularentrance.
3. Annex-Theannexcontainsfourfloorsofexhibitionspace,threeof
whicharedoubleheight,aswellasadditionaloffice,storage,andspace
forbuildinginfrastructureandmechanicalsystems.Thenewexhibition
areasareconnectedtotherotundabehindthetriangularstairtowerat
thefourth,fifth,andseventhfloors.
DRAWBACKS-Althoughthespacewithinthebuildingisundeniably
majesticandthebuildingitselfmonumental,itwasnotperfectlysuccessful
intermsoffunction.Thecurvedwallsoftheinteriorwereintendedsothat
paintingshadtobetiltedbackward,asontheartistseasel.Thiswas
unsuccessfulbecausethepaintingswerestillverydifficulttodisplay
becauseoftheconcavityofthewalls,andbecauseofthisbeforeits
opening21artistssignedaletterprotestingabouttheirdisplayofworkin
suchaspace.Manycriticsalsoarguethatthebuildingcompeteswiththe
artworkthatisintendedtobedisplayed,aproblemwhichMuseumDirector
JamesJohnsonSweeneytookseriously,stating,Thisisthemost
spectacularmuseuminteriorarchitecturallyinthiscountry.

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