In Context
Does the Weisman reflect, contrast, or blend into its surroundings? Actually,
it does all three!
Some parts of the Weisman use materials similar to those in nearby buildings. Frank Gehry also used shapes that reflect the river below. And he added elements that make the Weisman stand out from the rest of the campus.
How
does the Weisman blend into its surroundings?
What are most of the buildings surrounding the museum made of? Bricks!
Frank
Gehry used bricks on two flat sides of the building. From some angles, the Weisman
Art Museum looks like a typical brick rectangle. But Gehry selected a bright
red brick to emphasize its color. He also used red-colored mortar to make the
color even more intense. So the bricks help the building blend in and stand
out!
How does the Weisman reflect its surroundings?
How
does the Weisman reflect its neighbor, the Mississippi River? Some say that
it looks like a silver boat, with sails unfurling over the river bank.
"There's a point in sailing called the turning point, when the boat is coming about and you are turning into the wind; for a split second as you flatten the boat, and the wind is out of the sails, just before the flutter—the sail's luff it's called—that leading edge gets this movement, it's quite beautiful, in the space of the two sails. I began to use it in the facade of the Weisman."
-Frank Gehry
Others
see the west facade as a stainless steel version of the craggy river bluff below
it. Gehry designed the west facade facing the river to fold in and out like
a pleated skirt, so that the windows would look up and down the river.
How does the Weisman contrast with its surroundings?
That's easy to see. The most prominent facades use stainless steel in unexpected shapes and angles. Some people love it; some people hate it.
Why would anyone design a building that some
people might hate?
Page credits:
Brick close-up photos by Katie Knight
© 1998 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
