De Young Museum

Related people

Herzog & de Meuron (was created by)
Walter Hood (was created by)
Pierre de Meuron (architect)
Jacques Herzog (architect)

Date

1999-2005 (creation)

Location

North and Central America->United States->California (CA)->San Francisco

Description

The new building replaces a 1895-1921 structure damaged in a 1989 earthquake. Herzog & de Meuron were primary designers; local architects, Fong & Chan Architects, San Francisco. Located in Golden Gate Park; ribbons of windows erase the boundary between the museum interior and the lush natural environment outside, and four public entrances segue naturally from the park pathways. The building dramatic copper facade is perforated and textured to replicate the impression made by light filtering through a tree canopy. The copper will acquire a patina over time, further blending with the surroundings. The northeast corner of the building features a 144-foot observation tower, which recalls a tower on the original building. Historic elements from the former de Young, such as the sphinxes, the original palm trees, and the Pool of Enchantment, have been retained or reconstructed at the new museum.
Experimenting first with copper mesh and later with punched, embossed copper sheets, architects Herzog and de Meuron eventually sought out the Kansas City-based metal fabricators of A. Zahner Company to assist in the panel design.
"Working with project architects Fong & Chan and the contractors, Zahner developed the facade. They devised the structural system for attaching, supporting, and cleaning the panels, as well as fabricating the sheets so that they carried out the intention of the architect's design. A computerized engineering system enabled the 7,200 panels to be individually cut, punched, and embossed according to the architects' directions. The pattern was derived from pixilated photographs Herzog & de Meuron had taken of trees and bushes in Golden Gate Park." (Ketcham, D. (2005). The de Young in the 21st century: A museum by Herzog & de Meuron. New York: Thames & Hudson. p. 101.)

Keywords: de Young Memorial Museum, display rooms and spaces, exhibition building spaces, copper panels, copper sheet, facade, dimples, dimpled, embossed, punched, pixelated, rainscreen, translucent, construction, fabrication.

---