PROJECT 2 - High Museum of Art
Architect – Renzo Piano
Client – High museum of art and the woodruff art centre.
Location – 1280 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta
About Project
The museum was founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association. In 1926, the High family donated their family home on Peachtree St to the Association to house the Associations collection of Art. The museum later became known as The High Museum of Art. In 1983, a 135,000 sq. ft building was designed by Richard Meier who later went on to be awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1984 following the completion of the building. In 2005 Renzo Piano was commissioned to design 3 new buildings, at a cost of $124 million to the museum and the woodruff foundation.
This more than doubled the size of the museum from 135,000sq. ft to 312,000 sq. ft. Previously. In 2003 comprehensive renovations had be completed. The main issue being corrected was an excess daylight and direct sunlight entering the gallery spaces. After the renovations, the museum was very conscious of the importance of a good daylighting system being necessary for any future work. Renzo approached this project with great caution making use of complex computer-generated simulations and a 1:1 model just outside of Atlanta in order to ensure the spaces were getting the desired daylight effect. Two of the three buildings were intended to be exhibition spaces and required excellent daylighting in order to properly colour render the pieces on show. The third being an admissions building where the daylighting wasn’t as important. In order to achieve the desired daylighting effect Renzo utilised 1,000 Northern facing exterior baffles to take light in which is then distributed in the gallery spaces below via specially shaped soffits. The baffles face Northward as northern light is seen as the ideal light for lighting Artwork. The baffles also prevent direct sunlight from entering the gallery spaces below. This allows an even zenithal light to fill the spaces. (14)(15) (16)
ˆThe Exterior Baffles and the specially designed soffits to bring light into the exhibition spacesˇ
The Architect
Renzo Piano was born in Genoa, Italy in 1937. (17). He was born to a family of builders, his grandfather having started a construction company which his father then expanded and his brother, Ermanno, eventually taking over when his father retired. Renzo studied Architecture at Milan Polytechnical University and graduated in 1964. He taught at the University from 1965 – 1968. During this period, he also worked in the architectural firm of Louis. I. Kahn in Philadelphia and in polish engineer Zygmut Stalinslaw Makowski’s London based firm.
Zygmut S. Makowski Louis. I. Kahn
In 1970, Renzo won a competition to design the Italian Pavilion for industry at the Expo 70 in Osaka. In collaboration with his brother, Ermanno, Renzo designed the pavilion and Ermanno built it. The pavilion was greatly admired by the British architect Richard Rogers. Following Renzo’s success, they set up a firm together. Their most notable building was the Pompidou Centre, Paris. (18).
Centre de Pompidou ˆ
In 1981, Renzo established RPWB after leaving to go out on his own. Notable projects include The Menil collection and The Agnelli art museum atop the Lingotto Factory in Turin.
Menil Collection The Agnelli museumˇ
Renzo’s understanding and adeptness to using and understanding how to use daylight in his work can in part be attributed to his early experiences as a young architect. His time working in Louis. I. Kahn’s practice no doubt influenced his understanding of daylight and how to use it within his architecture. Louis. I. Kahn was a noteworthy architect when it comes to his appreciation and understanding of Daylight. Throughout his projects Louis makes use of creative and experimental use of systems in order to achieve certain lighting conditions. For example, the daylighting system he employed at the Kimbell art museum was ground-breaking and not dissimilar to some of the work done by Renzo.
Also noteworthy is the time Renzo spent working with engineer Zygmut Stalinslaw Makowski. Unlike most architects this would have given Renzo an understanding of how daylighting systems worked and would have enabled him to better apply these systems within his architecture. Renzo’s had also had dealings with similar issues in The Menil museum in Texas, most likely learning a great deal from that project and Appling this knowledge in the High.
The Location and Why the Light Conditions Are as They Are.
The High museum complex is located within a mildly built urban site. The site is offset around 35°- 40° west of the North/South line. The two exhibition buildings designed by Renzo are parallel to the site orientation, being constructed lengthways along the site. The site has a softly undulating topography and is in close proximity to multistorey buildings on all sides. Direct sunlight to the complex is not compromised for the most part. There is a skyscraper to the south of the site that casts a shadow on the complex year-round but as the exhibition buildings do not require direct sunlight this does not affect the daylighting system. Atlanta is considered a polluted city with the second highest pollution from motor vehicles in the country. Atlanta also does not meet the national safety standards for soot and smog levels in the air and will not be able to for an estimated 10 years. During Summer solstice the altitude of the sun reaches 78.80° with an azimuth of -154. 97°. (20). Daylight lasts for up to 14 and a half hours a day during this time.
The weather during this period is warm, with average temperatures around 26° with clear skies with the odd patch of clouds. (19) Daylight illuminance ranges from 60,000 – 70,000lux during the day. This is hampered by the air quality which does result in mie scattering. During the winter solstice the sun angle reaches 32.5° with and azimuth of -173.24°. (20). Daylight lasts for up to 10 hours during this period. The weather is colder during this period with average temperatures around 12° but lows of below 0°. Cloudy skies with patches of rain dominate expected during winter. (19) Daylight illuminance drops to around 30,000 lux during this period. The light experienced by the site during summer is a little below ideal for colour rendering. The light is bright with a soft and gentle glow however it lacks the hardness to sharply define objects. This all however is not important when considering the exhibition spaces make use of northern facing baffles and specially designed soffits to provide an ambient zenithal light that is consistent throughout the spaces. The function of the baffles are to specifically block out direct sunlight and stop it from piercing into the galleries.
References
14. [Internet]. Architectmagazine.com. 2020 [cited 24 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/lighting/a-sculptural-approach-to-daylight_o
15. Extension of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta - DETAIL inspiration [Internet]. Inspiration.detail.de. 2020 [cited 24 October 2020]. Available from: https://inspiration.detail.de/extension-of-the-high-museum-of-art-in-atlanta-103626.html
16. The Louvre Views Its Art in a New Way (When Showing It in Atlanta) (Published 2006) [Internet]. Nytimes.com. 2020 [cited 24 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/arts/design/16high.html
17. Renzo Piano [Internet]. Inexhibit. 2020 [cited 24 October 2020]. Available from: http://www.inexhibit.com/architects-artists/renzo-piano/
18. Jodidio P, Piano R. Piano. Köln: Taschen; 2016.
19. Midtown Atlanta [Internet]. Accuweather. 2020 [cited 24 October 2020]. Available from: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/midtown/30309/december-weather/2625836?year=2020
20. PD: 3D Sun-Path [Internet]. Andrewmarsh.com. 2020 [cited 24 October 2020]. Available from: http://andrewmarsh.com/apps/staging/sunpath3d.html
