Although museums are usually known for their paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other priceless works that span centuries of human culture and artistic achievement, many of the buildings that house these treasures happen to be masterpieces themselves. Modern museum structures deviate significantly from traditional architectural styles, and the iconic glass cases that house the priceless objects are gradually being replaced by state-of-the-art technologies. Museum exhibitions are becoming increasingly interactive, offering visitors the opportunity to engage and interact with exhibits rather than simply observing them.
- Soumaya Museum, Mexico
The distinctive shape and strong architectural lines of the museum represent its sculptural concept. With a ‘skin’ made up of 16,000 hexagonal steel and mirror tiles, it evokes the traditional colonial facades of ceramic-tiled buildings and gives the museum a different image depending on the weather conditions and the viewer’s position.
- Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is made of titanium, glass and limestone. Since opening in 1997 the exterior of architect Frank Gehry’s masterpiece has been compared to a bouquet of flowers or a boat. Before the pandemic, more than a million visitors arrived annually to see the waterfront museum’s famous turbines and the galleries within. Its permanent collections include important works by Jenny Holzer, Richard Serra and Jeff Koons, among many others. But perhaps the most recognizable sculpture, which attracts many photos from outside the museum, is the spindle-shaped spider known as Maman, by Louise Bourgeois.
- Ordos Museum, China
To many, this museum in the city of Ordos in China’s Inner Mongolia province looks like a giant blob, refusing to merge with its surroundings. Its rustic coloring complements the Chinese Gobi desert in which it is located, and its modern design matches the new city of Ordos – a city built in 2004. Due to the lack of inhabitants in the desert, you will feel like you are exploring a ghost town.
- Dalí Museum, Florida
The Salvador Dali Museum, masterfully designed by Yann Weymouth, stands as an artistic haven in St. Petersburg, Florida, dedicated to showcasing the masterful works of the Spanish master painter. The museum’s architectural design draws inspiration from the Surrealist movement, with a grand entrance and skylight made of robust 1.5-inch (38 mm) thick glass, creating a visually stunning and immersive experience. In addition to its remarkable structure, the museum offers a variety of events tailored for families and art lovers. Visitors can participate in exciting performances, engaging workshops, thought-provoking films, enlightening lectures and various fundraising initiatives. In addition, the museum hosts food and drink events, providing the opportunity to taste culinary delights while surrounded by Dali’s imaginative creations.
- Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Brazil
Is it a flower or a flying saucer? Undoubtedly futuristic, this sparkling white structure according to the architect is a “flower”, but if aliens landed on Earth this building would be the most appropriate place. Designed by Brazilian avant-garde architect Oscar Niemeyer, one of the founders of the modernist movement, the Niterói Museum of Contemporary Art (Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói) was completed in 1996 and is located across Guanabara Bay, near Rio de Janeiro in nearby town of Niterói.
The impressive four-story circular museum features a permanent collection of more than 1,200 works, highlighting some of the country’s most iconic contemporary artists, including Lygia Clark and João Carlos Goldberg, as well as a rich program of temporary exhibitions.
- National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington
The design for the National Museum of African American History and Culture—a collaboration of the Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates and Davis Brody Bond—wraps the structure in an elaborate mesh of bronze-colored metal. The culmination of decades of effort, it is the only national museum dedicated exclusively to the contributions of African Americans to American culture and to examining American history through their lens. It features three levels of inverted half-pyramids that invoke the Yoruba crowns of West Africa. The museum’s permanent collection includes priceless items such as the work of Harriet Tubman, a Tuskegee airplane, a reconstructed slave cabin from a South Carolina plantation, Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, a dress sewn by Rosa Parks, and boxing headgear worn by Muhammad Ali.
- ABC Museum, Madrid
The new ABC Design and Illustration Center was founded in 2011 by the team of Aranguren & Gallegos Architects with the aim of becoming an artistic international reference and cultural symbol. The installation in the old building of a factory in the Amaniel street of the Spanish capital is a suitable intervention in a historical building without sacrificing the expressive character of a modern center with a variety of cultural and artistic institutions.
