The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at
Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Mich., does many things. It is a bold statement about architecture, which one would expect from Zaha Hadid Architects, London. Hadid is the 2004 laureate of the Pritzker Architectural Award who is known for dynamic forms. The Broad Art Museum confirms that.
The project also provides a unique environment for art curators to showcase contemporary art. And, its position on the edge of campus forms both a modern gateway to a traditional campus as well as a strong outreach to the surrounding community. The tilting, radiating, canted forms of the fivestory building make it difficult to read. In photos, it appears smaller than it is. And interior spaces force a viewer to question his sensory understanding, but not to the point that it becomes a fun-house experience. The building feels “right.”
In part, that can be attributed to the strict use of straight lines. There are no disorienting curvilinear surfaces, forms or lines. Everything is flat and straight. The pleats on the exterior converge to a vanishing point in the far distant, distorting in a different way than the canted and leaning forms.
Troy, Mich.-based Integrated Design Solutions served as the local collaborators on the project. President Paul Stachowiak, AIA, and principal in charge of the project speaks to the sensory understanding. “What’s deceiving is the radius differences are very subtle. It’s hard to tell when things are not parallel and makes a space seem longer or shallower than you might predict.”
That spatial challenge is repeated in the cladding that the IDS architects describe as “pleats and patches.” The movement and visual nature of the stainless steel skin challenges our understanding of the scale of the building and even its orientation. Jeff Johnson, AIA, senior associate at IDS says: “The patches themselves help play a role in the size of the building. There are no horizontal lines on the side of the building. Those patches run on diagonals and offer no perception of the floor to floor height.”
A. Zahner Co., Kansas City, Mo., fabricated and installed the metal panels, which are 14-gauge, Type 316 stainless steel and have the Angel Hair Finish. Gary Davis, AIA, of A. Zahner says, “The most important thing was achieving what the architect wanted without compromise.” He adds: “The building certainly challenges the precepts of what the Midwest was all about. It was a spectacular job.” Johnson notes, “The Angel Hair texture allows the depth of the stainless steel to express itself. “
Judge Mark Dewalt says: “The forms on this building are really aggressive. My thought was if you are married to that form, you couldn’t do this in any other material but metal.”
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
Completed: October 2012
Building owner: Michigan State University
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects, London, www.zaha-hadid.com, and Integrated Design Solutions, Troy, Mich., www.ids-troy.com
General contractor: Barton Malow Co., Southfield, Mich., www.bartonmalow.com
Metal panel fabricator/installer: A. Zahner Co., Kansas City, Mo., www.azahner.com