Prada Museum
I had never seen in person a building by OMA, but as a student I was a huge fan of the work, especially the Maison Bordeaux house, which I studied, analyzed and emulated in all its glory. And thanks to EuroWest, I was traveling in Milan, with a chance to visit the Prada Museum, designed by OMA and recently opened in time for Milan Expo. To finally see in person OMA’s work was a great surprise, providing encouragement for me to continue in a modernist vein of design: modernist organization, simplification, and clarification of design with richly detailed, original and varied materiality. The Prada Museum especially excels at the juxtaposition of materiality: travertine and plexi-glass, steel and glass, end-grained lumbered and metal grating, concrete and hollow-core plastic. This museum is a dream for someone who loves thoughtful use of materials. So I’m not going to bore you anymore with my inadequate words…here it is…enjoy!
The Haunted House was a mirage in the heat wave: gold covered, and shimmering with light.
Much of the new construction was made in “oamed’ metal, with pavers in end-grain lumber.
Classical sculpture on display on travertine floors raised on plexiglass: the materials of classicism and modernity.
Authentic and reproduction sculpture side-by-side, while the real travertine’s honey comb support structure is on display, not hidden.
Classical arches reimagined in minimal form.
View back to the Haunted House
Installation by Robert Gober in the Haunted House
Installation detail
Walls pivot further to blur the boundary of inside-outside in the theatre.
Reality and reflection combine.
Stair detailing reveals a complex intersection of materials.
Eva Hesse, a shrine to materiality in the minimal concrete gallery.
It’s refreshing to see art displayed on non-white, museum walls.
Joining “the Conversation”
Restaurant designed by Wes Anderson is a candy-shop fantasia!
David Bjørngaard, August 2015
What do you think?