Museums have a very special socio-cultural meaning nowadays, and part of their message and image is, undoubtedly, their architecture.
In many parts of the world there is a spectacular boom, in the total or partial construction, remodeling and the adequacy of museums. This new museum era is reflected in the contemporary trends of the buildings, where the architects, the main creators of these temples, gain a great importance.
From Horse Magazine, we anticipate the openings of these six new museums distributed throughout different cities of the world and we tell you what you can find in them.
Louvre Museum (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
Framed in the cultural district that is being built on the island of Saadiyat and with more than 9,000 square meters, the new Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi is being constructed, which will open on November 11th. Designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, this more likely to be city-museum than a building to use, has 55 individual buildings, including 23 galleries and all covered by a large perforated dome that filters the sunlight and seems to float on the water.
Louvre Museum, Abu Dhabi – Pictures by Mohamed Somj
What can we see there? Since its inauguration and for the next ten years it will receive on loan works from French collections. For the first fifteen years, France will provide four exhibitions to the Louvre Abu Dhabi each year. Finally, it will help the museum to create its own collection to progressively replace the works on loan.
Museum Zeitz Mocaa (Cape Town, South Africa)
In an old grain silo built in the 1920s, the first museum in Africa dedicated only to contemporary art opened its doors last September 22th. It is also the biggest museum built in the last century.
Zeitz Mocaa Museum, Cape Town – Picture by Iwan Bann
The museum, which will focus on African artists, the continent and the diaspora, is destined to become the most important exhibition of African art in the world. The London studio of Thomas Heatherwick has been in charge of the remodeling of the more than 6,000 square meters of this building located in the coastal area of the city.
Zeitz Mocaa, Cape Town – Pictures by Iwan Bann
Yves Saint Laurent Museum (Marrakech, Morocco)
On October 3rd, during the Paris Fashion Week, the new museum dedicated to the work of the designer will open its doors in the French capital. And following its path, another museum will open in Marrakech, the city that won Saint Laurent’s heart in the late sixties.
Pierre Bergé, who was Saint Laurent’s lover for decades, and his foundation, have been the architects of both projects, among which outstands the Moroccan due to its magnitude.
Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Marrakech
The KO architecture studio has been in charge of the design of this museum, which in addition to hosting a permanent and temporary exhibition space, includes an auditorium, a bookshop, a library and a restaurant. Garments, accessories, sketches and other objects in a selection of the impressive Pierre Bergé Foundation’s collection, previously stored in Paris and which now can be seen in this museum under Christophe Martin’s set design.
MACAN Museum (Jakarta, Indonesia)
The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara will be the first museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art throughout Indonesia. Its 2,000 square meters of exhibition space and about 500 of indoor sculpture garden will house more than 800 works of local and foreign authors. The opening is scheduled for November 4th and its main objective will be to make art accessible to the general public, especially the youngest ones.
Interior of the MACAN Museum, Jakarta – Images courtesy of MACAN
The opening exhibition will consist of about 90 pieces belonging to the private collection of the founder, Haryanto Adikoesoemo, who has managed to gather more than 800 pieces during the last 25 years. Among the best known international artists we can find: Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol and Anish Kapoor.
The exterior has been designed by the architectural studio ARK design, while the interiors by the London-based firm MET Studio Design Ldt.
Exterior of the MACAN Museum, Jakarta – Image courtesy of MACAN
Museum of the Bible (Washington DC, United States)
Not without controversy, on November 17th the Museum of the Bible will open its doors. A construction of almost 40,000 square meters devoted entirely to one of the most influential books in the history of mankind. The artifice of the giant: David Greenbaum.
Museum of the Bible, Washington DC
In an immersive, interactive and high-tech environment it will allow its visitors to “get” into the story as they walk around the collection of the more than 40,000 objects which houses. Some of the most curious are the Elvis Presley Bible or the Lunar Bible that astronaut Edgar Mitchell took on the space mission to the Moon.
Design Society (Shenzhen, China)
The Design Society Foundation is not a museum but a cultural center that will feature a gallery of the famous Victoria and Albert Museum in London dedicated to the industrial design of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Exterior of Design Society, Shenzhen – Image by Maki and associates
The building, designed by Fumihiko Maki, will open to the public in October as the first institution in China dedicated to design. Located in the Shekou district of Shenzhen City, it will house, apart from the main hall of the museum, a theater, shops and other areas with different functions.
Interior of Design Society, Shenzhen – Images of Maki and associates
Welt Museum Wien (Vienna, Austria)
We cannot forget the reopening of the Welt Museum Wien, the former Museum of Ethnology in Vienna, which will be held on October 25th after three years closed for remodeling works.
Welt Museum Wien, Vienna
Considered one of the main ethnographic museums in the world thanks to its ample collections of ethnographic objects, historical photographs and publications on extra-European cultures, it will celebrate its return with a show of André Heller and with the Imperial Palace of Hofburg as a backdrop.