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Institute of Contemporary Art - Oculus AIA Award

 

Article from Oculus AIA Award - 2007
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Architecture HONOR

Architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Project: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Client: Institute of Contemporary Art

In 1999 the City of Boston selected the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) as the recipient of a prime waterfront site on the Boston Harborwalk. It was a win-win situation: the museum would become a cultural cornerstone on a revitalized waterfront, and the site would give the institute the space it needed to present its popular programming and exhibitions.

The 65,000 square-foot building, of which 18,000 square feet are dedicated to flexible, column-free galleried with 15 ½ foot ceilings and an adjustable skylight system. The building also contains a 350 seat multipurpose theater, digital media center, café, bookstore, education center, and administrative offices. A large exhibition space called the “gallery box” is cantilevered over the Harborwalk and extends out to the water’s edge, supported by four massive trusses, behind translucent exterior walls. The façade consists of uniformly sized vertical planks that alternate between transparent glass, translucent glass, and opaque metal. The wooden surface of the Harborwalk folds up to create a sheltered public “room” facing the water and weaves its way to define the interior until it emerges as the underside of the cantilevered gallery box.

The design was featured at NEXT: The Future of Architecture during the 8th Annual International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale and a retrospective of the architects’ work at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2003. When the museum opened to the public in December 2006, it was the first new museum in Boston in the last century. It was also the first building by Diller Scofidio + Renfro to be built in the United States.

“Our design negotiates between two competing objectives: to perform as a dynamic civic building filled with public and social activities,and as a contemplative space providing individual visitors with intimate experiences with contemporary art. The ‘public’ building is built from the ground up and the ‘intimate’ building, from the sky down.”
Elizabeth Diller, Architect

“This is an example of architecture in an urban context and how buildings can actually make contributions to the public realm.”
Jury

Diller Scofidio + Renfro Team: Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, AIA, Charles Renfro, RA (Principals), Flavio Stigliano, RA (Project Leader), Deane Simpson, Jesse Saylor, Eric Howeler
Associate Architect: Perry Dean Rogers and Partners: Martha Pilgreen (Principal-In-Charge), Gregory C. Burchard, Mike Waters (Project Managers), Henry Scollard (Project Designer)
SMEP: Arup New York
Theater Consultant: Fisher Dachs
Acoustics: Jaffee Holden Acoustics
Project Management: Seamus Henchy Associates
Lighting: Arup London