PHILADELPHIA – It seemed an almost impossible task for an arts institution. Recreate the atmosphere of the stately Barnes Foundation mansion in suburban Merion, Pennsylvania, in an urban environment; adhere to the truly independent vision of its founder, Albert C. Barnes; and create a modern, architecturally significant, world-class building under these restrictions.
New York-based architects, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, and Philadelphia-based landscape architect, Laurie Olin, proved that they were more than up to the challenge. What they created through a complex weaving of design, materials and workmanship was a bright, modern facility that shows a great deal of sensitivity to Barnes’ vision while providing a humane, modern environment to view what many believe is the greatest private art collection amassed in modern times.
In fact, the 4.5-acre campus-like setting along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway—the busy, leafy thoroughfare that contains many of the city’s best known, arts, cultural and educational institutions—is not only sensitive to the Barnes’ mission but it improves upon it in two major areas: accessibility and light.
Natural and artificial light is controlled through a sophisticated system that includes tinted and reflective windows and an exterior shading system designed to bring natural light without the harmful UV rays and balance it with artificial light.
The 93,000-square-foot building includes classrooms, seminar rooms, a library, and a 150-seat auditorium, providing educational opportunities that could never have been envisioned at the building in Merion. Art education for all was at the heart of the Barnes Foundation mission and this building greatly expands this mission.
Materials used for the building and gardens have a sense of purpose, no matter how seemingly complex or mundane. Artists and crafts persons were brought in to create functional and esthetically pleasing furnishings and other items made with organic materials.
The $150 million campus (which included moving the collections seven miles, from Merion to Philadelphia) opens to the public today. Admission is free for the first 10 days, though all tickets are sold out. The $18 admission fee ($15 for seniors, $10 for students and children) begins May 26.
On Wednesday, the two-story building and grounds were available to the media. I live nearby so I was able to walk to the site and use the pedestrian entrance on 20th Street. Immediately, you are taken out of the city and into the garden that not only surrounds the building but enters it at various points. “Gallery in a Garden and Garden in a Gallery” was the original concept for the building. The entrance to the building has as its centerpiece a reflecting pool lined with red maples and climaxed with a 40-foot high, stainless steel abstract sculpture known as The Barnes Totem by Ellsworth Kelly.
Limestone is used in several ways throughout the building. Outside it is used in smooth-textured patterns that resemble the marble façade of The Philadelphia Museum of Art nearby. The most prominent exterior architectural feature is a 12,000-square-foot translucent canopy that juts out from the roof. By day it brings natural light into the building, at night its a beacon in the dark sky.
After passing through the lobby you enter into the aptly named “light court.” Here the canopy is used to bring natural light into the 7,800 square-foot room. However, the light comes in through a sliver of a skylight that is not visible through the ceiling design that opens and spreads the light throughout the court, deflecting the sun rays as it enters the room. The effect is you enjoy the pleasure of outside lighting without feeling overwhelmed by the sun and its heat.
In the lobby and the light court the same limestone is used. However, this time a chiseled linear finish is applied. Concrete is not only the main structural element but it is used in interior spaces on the lower level, either sandblasted or with a rough, open texture. Bronze is used throughout the building as a patina.
Large, cream-colored acoustical wall panels made of wool mixed with silk were created by Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra, who has her own flock of sheep that she shears and her own garden of vegetable and flowers that she presses into natural dyes to create her works. “It hides our stereo speakers but also helps to keep the sound down,” explained, Philip Ryan, senior associate with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Archtects LLP.
The floor in this room and other areas is a Brazilian walnut called Ipe, taken from the the Coney Island boardwalk structure that is being replaced. At the end of the court is a terrace for outside dining.
The light court leads to the 12,000 square-foot collection gallery, which consists of 24 connecting rooms on two floors. The rooms are designed and sized almost exactly as they were in the Merion mansion. Where there were changes made, it was done to enhance the art. The same white oak wood trim on the windows and entranceways in the Merion mansion is used in the new galleries. However, the architects chose to simplify the detailing and lighten the finish by eliminating the stain. The original Barnes building applied black electrical tape on the floor as a border to show people where they shouldn’t step. The architects replaced this with strips of the same Ipe wood from the Coney Island boardwalk. The windows are as close as possible to being identical to the old mansion. The yellow burlap wall fabric where the artworks are hung is identical to the Merion mansion.
The thing that is evident immediately in the gallery when compared to the old building is the lighting, which is vastly improved. The barrel vaulted ceilings were slightly altered so the architects could evenly light the surface with daylight fluorescents positioned at the top of the picture rail. A single teardrop-shaped chandelier provides fluorescent lighting toward the ceiling and incandescent lighting below. This along with the outside lighting that comes from large windows allows the paintings to be seen more clearly, said Derek Gillman, Barnes Foundation executive director and president.
“Thanks to the carefully controlled balance of natural and artificial light, we now are able to see the true colors of vibrancy of Cezanne’s 'Card Players,' Van Gogh’s 'Postmaster' … and all the other great masterpieces of the collections,” he said. “You can see things that you couldn’t see before.”
In Paul Cézanne’s "Portrait of a Woman," the book she is holding has a reflective quality; something that Gillman said wasn’t apparent in the old building. In his opening remarks, Gillman recalled when Ellsworth Kelly, The Barnes Totem creator, visited the gallery, he swore that one of the paintings had been cleaned. It wasn’t. Some of the older paintings also stand out. For example, in El Greco’s "Apparition of the Virgin and Child to Saint Hyacinth," the white light surrounding the virgin and child is crisp and bright.
The artworks are configured in exactly the way that Barnes presented them in the mansion. And what a collection of art it is. Barnes may be one of the most controversial art figures in the 20th Century, but what he amassed over approximately 40 years of collecting is outstanding. More than 2,500 objects, including 800 paintings, are literally stacked on walls above doorways and crammed into corners.
Some of the most important impressionist and post-impressionist paintings in the world are placed on walls surrounded by what appears to be a haphazard displays of metal ornaments and above nondescript Pennsylvania Dutch furniture.
It is the only place on earth where one can be nonchalant about seeing a Renoir—there are 181 of his works, the largest single group of the artist’s paintings, including a wall on the second floor with nothing but Renoirs. Also among the collection are 69 Cézannes, 59 painting by Henri Matisse, and 46 by Pablo Picasso.
It is on the second floor where the light losses its luster. There are spaces without natural light and even where there are windows it appears darker than the first floor. It also seems as if Barnes vision for the placement of paintings is more haphazard, if that's possible, as if he was just looking for anyplace to place the works. There’s also a mezzanine space overlooking the main gallery that could use more light. But it does have an outstanding view of the Matisse’s 34-foot-wide triptych, “The Dance,” which was installed above the windows of the main gallery just like it was in the original building.
The lower lobby level is where the museum shop, coat check, restrooms are for visitors. The open space is designed to be a comfortable environment for relaxing. There are books, a small café and an outdoor atrium. Some of the furnishings are designed by Knoll Inc. along with artisans who provided the finishes.
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