New Aspen Art Museum is an Architectural Marvel
Photo credit: David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban has given a puzzle-like form to the new Aspen Art Museum. And if you’d like to take a peek at this intriguing new landmark, you’re invited to join a 24-hour opening celebration on August 9 and 10, complete with live concerts, film screenings, theater, dance, yoga, dream interpretation, tours, talks, art exhibitions and cooking demonstrations.
Photo credit: David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Encased by a woven wood screen fashioned from Prodema (a paper/resin composite encased within a dual-sided wooden veneer), the stunning new museum is clearly innovative. In his effort to "open the building to the outside so visitors could appreciate the beauty of Aspen from inside the building," Shigeru Ban cites “five important design features: the Grand Stair, the Moving Glass Room Elevator, the Woven Wood Screen, the Wood Roof Structure (Wood Truss System), and the Walkable Skylights.”
Roof deck of the new Aspen Art Museum. Photo (c) Derek Skalko
“I made the entrance foyer on the rooftop,” the architect explains. “It is like the experience of skiing—you go up to the top of a mountain, enjoy the view, and then slide down.” Indeed the museum’s roof will be a lively place, with a sculpture garden and plans for an event space along with a café, bar and outdoor screening area.
Photo credit: David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Located right in the heart of downtown, on the corner of South Spring Street and East Hyman Avenue, the 33,000-square-foot building more than triples the exhibition space of the AAM’s previous location. Admission will be free, year-round. aspenartmuseum.org
Photo credit: David X Prutting/BFAnyc.com
