St. Louis Art Museum expansion and renovation

the central scrutinizer · PostNov 02, 2010#2112010-11-02T14:22+00:00

Got this bit of great news in my email this morning:

"Inside the Cass Gilbert building, the Nepture Fountain has been removed from Sculpture Hall so work can begin on the new central staircase that will lead to the Level 1 galleries. The Fountain is now in storage for safekeeping and will be reinstalled at the Museum’s South Building Entrance."

Translation: We're burying it out back.

For some strange reason, for me this is one of the best parts of the expansion - getting rid of that dreadful fountain.

DaronDierkes · PostNov 02, 2010#2122010-11-02T18:56+00:00

^ central staircase! Wouldn't that take up a lot of space and mess up the pretty sunlight?

the central scrutinizer · PostNov 02, 2010#2132010-11-02T19:14+00:00

DaronDierkes wrote:^ central staircase! Wouldn't that take up a lot of space and mess up the pretty sunlight?

???

This staircase goes down, not up, from the central hall.

jcity · PostNov 26, 2010#2142010-11-26T07:56+00:00

i LOVED that fountain as a kid. still do/did.

gary kreie · PostDec 23, 2010#2152010-12-23T17:05+00:00

It has been nearly a year since groundbreaking. Here is an update from the SLAM website:
http://www.slam.org/expansion/construction.php

"This week marks the one-year milestone on construction of the Museum's expansion project. So far, a total of 568 tradesmen have been on the site. As early as next week, crews will move beyond the Parking Garage and start work on the Level 2 gallery spaces. Gallery 251, located directly above the South Mechanical Room, will be the first gallery constructed.

Weather conditions this week made work out on the site more difficult than normal. Extreme cold, snow, and ice slowed progress on the concrete pours. Concrete work is expected to resume by week's end as drier air and higher temperatures move into the area.

Work underneath the South Building was also slowed this week as crews reached rock while excavating the area for the new elevator pit. Though this discovery will slow progress, fortunately only a few feet remain to be excavated.

Inside the Museum, the Dog House construction barrier is nearing completion. The structure is scheduled to be painted and receive its side doors on Monday, December 20.

As always, thank you for your continued patience and support."

the central scrutinizer · PostDec 23, 2010#2162010-12-23T19:15+00:00

Was there Tuesday for the Joe Jones exhibit (highly recommended). They're much farther along now. They've also built a "room" in the sculpture hall inside which they are digging the staircase. Best news of all? That ghastly fountain is gone. It will be buried out back somewhere, near the south entrance, which of course no one will use in the future.

DaronDierkes · PostDec 24, 2010#2172010-12-24T03:55+00:00

There's a bland white hallway in the back currently called "The Cafe" that serves corporate catered sandwichs of an unappealing nature and hours-old coffee. Apparently it's temporary and the hall will be returned to exhibit space when the new cafe space is finished. Thank goodness. The gift shop is also in a weird temporary spot. The artwork itself is all pretty jumbled.

The lady in the Joe Jones exhibit said that in the future all the Joe Jones pieces owned by the SLAM would be shown in the new space. Where I wonder will all the Rex Sinquefield pieces go? His living room???

There was also something in the paper a few months back about the SLAM getting a few thousand Japanese art pieces. I'm curious to know where these will go. If there's to be an East Asian section, we'll need more than a solitary example of Goryeo celadon.

cornbread · PostDec 30, 2010#2182010-12-30T05:03+00:00

Interesting. I recently found out from my grandmother that Joe Jones was a cousin of mine. She showed me the advertisements in St. Louis magazine a few months ago. I hadn't thought much of it until I saw these last few posts. I'm going to scramble to find time to visit the exhibit before it closes. Thank you for bringing it to my attention (albeit unintentional).

Carry on.

framer · PostDec 30, 2010#2192010-12-30T05:18+00:00

The Joe Jones show is excellent. It's particularly of interest to locals because of the many St. Louis scenes he painted (although the show is much more than that).

the central scrutinizer · PostDec 30, 2010#2202010-12-30T15:12+00:00

Framer wrote:The Joe Jones show is excellent. It's particularly of interest to locals because of the many St. Louis scenes he painted (although the show is much more than that).

Joe Jones and the tomb sculptures show were my two favorite exhibits of recent years.

wabash · PostDec 22, 2011#2212011-12-22T22:13+00:00

Construction photos from the last couple of months have been posted to the SLAM Flickr site. It looks like it's really coming together with glass curtain walls going up. There are lots of nice shots with the CWE skyline in the background and the Forest Park Hospital in the background. In this one you can even make out the Arch and Eagleton.

gary kreie · PostJan 21, 2012#2222012-01-21T23:47+00:00

My wife and I went to see the Monet exhibit at the Art Museum Wednesday. We noticed they were installing glass in the front of the new addition. My wife took this photo for me from her iPhone.

SLAMaddition.aspx by ZGare, on Flickr

hebeter · PostMar 17, 2012#2232012-03-17T13:58+00:00

Museums were once tangible manifestations of idealism. But creeping professionalism and a bottom-line sensibility have taken a toll. What remains? A cafe with art...
http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cf ... seum--7298

urban_dilettante · PostMar 17, 2012#2242012-03-17T19:15+00:00

hebeter wrote:Museums were once tangible manifestations of idealism. But creeping professionalism and a bottom-line sensibility have taken a toll. What remains? A cafe with art...
http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cf ... seum--7298

sadly, bottom-line sensibility has taken/is taking its toll on ALL American architecture.

beer city · PostSep 11, 2012#2252012-09-11T18:38+00:00

The new addition will open June 29 of next year, seems like a long time for a building that is basically complete

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/a ... 0f31a.html

framer · PostSep 12, 2012#2262012-09-12T04:12+00:00

^The structure of the building is basically complete, but lots of work still needs to be done inside, including the installation and testing of advanced climate control systems and the careful installation of millions of dollars worth of artwork.

Mark Groth · PostFeb 19, 2013#2272013-02-19T20:54+00:00

This story confirms a June opening...
http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/new ... n-in-june/
Adding 82,000 square feet of galleries and public space, can't wait!!!

missingsgrand · PostFeb 23, 2013#2282013-02-23T01:46+00:00

I'm curious about the new grand staircase in the original building...is it still boxed off from view? Not in town, so can't go by myself.

Presbyterian · PostMar 30, 2013#2292013-03-30T16:12+00:00

Chipperfield's St. Louis Art Museum expansion has been getting some attention as the opening date draws nearer. I realize some in St. Louis find the design a bit dull. At the same time, a flashy design is a sign of a city tryng to prove itself, while a subtle design is a sign of a city that doesn't need to. Design types worldwide are taking notice of our subtlety:

The Architects Newspaper:
http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6527

Wallpaper:
http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/s ... d-usa/6379

BauNetz Magazin:
http://www.baunetz.de/mobil/meldung.html?cid=3109587

arch city · PostJun 23, 2013#2302013-06-23T06:24+00:00

Here's a 360 panoramic view of the SLAM complex from Art Hill.

You can also go on a tour of the very nice East Wing galleries.

To me, it's a beautiful simple addition that makes a big statement. A gaudy over-the-top building isn't necessary to showcase fine pieces of art. For a change, I like this conservative approach. This is a HUGE, timeless addition. Plus, I like the natural light elements inside of the new wing and how the new wing doesn't compete with the Cass from the Grand Basin.

A few of the galleries:
-The New York School
-Art in Cologne
-Abstraction in the 80's
-Dusseldorf School of Photography
-Neo Expressionism
-Pop Art
-Surrealism in New York
-Post War German Art

....just to name a few.

PostJun 30, 2013#2312013-06-30T05:04+00:00

ON VIEW | MARK FEENEY
The Boston Globe Travel
Saint Louis Art Museum to maps at Winterthur
JUNE 29, 2013

East Building

Saint Louis Art Museum

The Saint Louis Art Museum has the best acronym of any art institution in America, SLAM. It now also has a spanking new pavilion. SLAM’s $160 million East Building opened Saturday. Designed by David Chipperfield, with the participation of the firm HOK, the East Building has 200,000 square feet of space with room for 21 galleries. This increases the museum’s public area by 30 percent. In addition, the museum has unveiled a new education center. 1 Fine Arts Drive, 314-721-0072, http://www.slam.org

Read More

PostJul 01, 2013#2322013-07-01T17:35+00:00

Art Daily.org
Saint Louis Art Museum opens new East Building designed by Sir David Chipperfield

Fox 4 KC
Video: Visitors to St. Louis Art Museum will see ‘Stone Sea’ change over time

The Art Newspaper
A ‘quiet and reserved’ new wing for Saint Louis Art Museum

Presbyterian · PostJul 04, 2013#2332013-07-04T01:10+00:00

Glowing review in London's Financial Times (registration is free):
http://m.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/9f7aaa66-e ... abdc0.html

... The $130m building is a gem of clarity and deceptive simplicity. There’s no attempt to compete with Gilbert’s structure, no desire to create a new, self-conscious monument (as so many mid-western and western US museums have done in recent years). Instead there is an elegant gallery that appears to care as much about the art as it does about the architecture....

...what they [Gilbert's and Chipperfield's buildings] share is the will to represent civic ambition. Atop Gilbert’s building runs the inscribed phrase “Dedicated to Art and Free to All”, a slogan which, unusually, still holds true thanks to a regional property tax. Gilbert represented his age through carved classical bombast, Chipperfield his through a pared-down concrete and glass elegance. “Art never improves,” wrote T.S. Eliot, St Louis’s most famous modernist son, “but . . . the material of art is never quite the same.”

arch city · PostJul 05, 2013#2342013-07-05T04:16+00:00

SLAM's new subterranean courtyard installation, "Stone Sea", is getting a lot of national and international press.

Architectural Digest
ANDY GOLDSWORTHY'S DRAMATIC LIMESTONE ARCHES AT THE ST. LOUIS ART MUSEUM

framer · PostJul 09, 2013#2352013-07-09T04:45+00:00

The new addition is featured in this month's Architectural Record magazine:

http://archrecord.construction.com/news ... -Month.asp

St. Louis Art Museum expansion and renovation

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