Page 54 - EXPOTIME!Sept2017

New museums

● To start with a very elegant new museum: Swiss ar-
chitect Peter Zumthor has presented his designs for the
extension of Renzo Piano’s Fondation Beyeler in Ba-
sel. He was unanimously selected by an international
jury composed of prominent figures from the worlds of
art and design – including architects Jean Nouvel, An-
nabelle Selldorf and outgoing Tate director Sir Nicho-
las Serota. The €92.2m project will be constructed on
the previously private land of the Iselin-Weber Park.
It will consist of an additional transparent pavilion for
events and a House for Art to display expanded col-
lections of modern and contemporary art and a sim- "Parlamentarium" Strasbourg. 360° cinema.
ple service building for administration and deliveries. Photo: Michael Jungblut

Zumthor's extension to Renzo Piano's Building of the Fondartion Beyeler: The €92.2m project will be constructed on the
previously private land of the Iselin-Weber Park. Photo: Zumthor architects

Strasbourg, they are now directly related to the seat of
● On 3 July, another "Parlamentarium" opened in the lived European democracy. Visitors find themselves di-
heart of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. De- rectly in the middle of the main exhibit. Here, seemingly
signed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER, the interactively informa- remote political events are suddenly brought very close.
tive exhibition is an invitation to get closer to European
politics, aiming to excite young people for the idea of a ● The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz
common Europe. The contents of the PARLAMENTARIUM MOCAA) has been opened on Cape Town’s V&A Water-
in Strasbourg are based on the Brussels "Parlamentari- front. Architects were Thomas Heatherwick Studio. The
um", which opened in 2011 and has had 1.7 million visi- museum is the largest in the world dedicated to con-
tors to date. Another predecessor is the exhibition en- temporary art from Africa and its diaspora. It is housed
titled "Erlebnis Europa – Europa Experience", which was in 9,500 m2 of custom-designed space, situated in the
opened in Berlin in May 2016. There, the aim was to warehouse and doch area of the city. From the outside
prepare the important contents in such a way that they it looks still like the old silo topped with a huge Oc-
were suitable for a smaller exhibition area. Here in tanorm showcase, from the inside it looks like a cell

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EXPOTIME!, issue August/September 2017