The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), a $112 million project that opened in late January, is a mix of old and new.
One part is an adaptive reuse of an Art Deco printing plant from 1939. Interdisciplinary design firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, along with executive architect EHDD, transformed the former printing plant into the primary gallery spaces of the museum.
While the Press Building has as classical look, a sleek new silver structure was added onto it. The new addition houses a film theater, library, study center, and a cafe.
The components total more than 83,000 sf, and a stainless steel ribbon wraps itself around the older structure, providing a visual link.
“The parts and pieces are intended to contrast with each other, but also to work together,” DS+R principal Charles Renfro said, according to the BAMPFA website.
The University of California at Berkeley museum has eight galleries with 25,000-sf of space, a theater, and an art lab. It holds 19,000 works of art and 17,500 films and videos.
The project is DS+R’s third building to open in California over the last year. The firm also designed The Broad Museum in Los Angeles and the McMurtry Art and Art History Building at Stanford University.
The museum's main entrance. Photo: Iwan Baan.
Ground floor gallery. Photo: Elizabeth Daniels.
Corridor above the ground floor gallery. Photo: Elizabeth Daniels.
Aerial view of the BAMPFA. Photo: Iwan Baan.
Related Stories
Museums | May 28, 2015
SANAA wins bid to design new building for Art Gallery of New South Wales
The museum's developers hope the new gallery will enrich Sydney’s eastern cultural precinct.
Museums | May 18, 2015
Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveils preliminary design for U.S. Olympic Museum
According to the firm’s founding partner, Elizabeth Diller, the design was inspired by the movement of athletes, as it “spirals up and outwards from a central atrium.”
Museums | May 13, 2015
The museum of tomorrow: 8 things to know about cultural institutions in today’s society
Entertainment-based experiences, personal journeys, and community engagement are among the key themes that cultural institutions must embrace to stay relevant, write Gensler's Diana Lee and Richard Jacob.
Museums | Apr 27, 2015
Finalists’ designs for Guggenheim Helsinki competition released
A custom-developed App engages an international public in the selection process.
Museums | Apr 23, 2015
Moshe Safdie unveils pentagonal scheme for National Medal of Honor Museum
The new museum near Charleston, S.C., will archive the history of the nation's highest military honorees.
Museums | Apr 22, 2015
Check out Ralph Johnson's stunning nature-inspired Shanghai museum
The newly opened Shanghai Natural History Museum, designed by Perkins+Will’s Global Design Director Ralph Johnson, mimics the shape of a nautilus shell, and features natural elements throughout.
Museums | Apr 16, 2015
SANAA and Snøhetta tie at first place for Budapest museum bid
The two firms submitted designs for the New National Gallery and Ludwig Museum, one of five planned museums to be constructed in a park just outside the urban center of Hungary’s capital.
Sponsored | Fire-Rated Products | Apr 14, 2015
Fire resistive curtain wall brings maximum light, views and safety to Aspen Art Museum
The curtain wall used for the Shigeru Ban-designed museum provides maximum daylight while protecting the art from fire
Museums | Apr 10, 2015
Henning Larsen Architects designs timber museum extension in Sweden
The new extension will complement Österund’s wooded surroundings
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
14 projects that push AEC teaming to the limits
From Lean construction to tri-party IPD to advanced BIM/VDC coordination, these 14 Building Teams demonstrate the power of collaboration in delivering award-winning buildings. These are the 2015 Building Team Award winners.
