USA 29. MILWAUKEE CALATRAVA ART MUSEUM

Sunday, October 05, 2014

USA 29. MILWAUKEE CALATRAVA ART MUSEUM

USA 28. Friday, September 19, 2014

Ok, so we are pretty far behind in blogging. Where were we? Ah yes, our Wisconsin adventure came to an end when we said farewell to Tom and Mary.

We hired a car to drive to Chicago but along the way we had a few stops planned.

Before we left Wisconsin we drove to Milwaukee, the home of "Happy Days", "Laverne and Shirley" and Harley Davidson motorbikes. But that is not why we went.

The Milwaukee Art Museum on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Wikipedia explains; "The MAM recently gained international recognition with the construction of the white concrete Quadracci Pavilion, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava (his first completed project in the United States), which opened on May 4, 2001. The structure contains a movable, wing-like brise soleil which opens up for a wingspan of 217 feet (66 m) during the day, folding over the tall, arched structure at night or during inclement weather. The brise soleil has since become a symbol for the city of Milwaukee."

What movable sunshade wings? The day we visited the wings were closed due to the hot sun...

...but here is a photo from a different day that shows the wings opened up. Pretty spectacular architecture as sculpture.

My friend Bruno asked; "why is the fountain red?". My guess is, art... Looks a tad icky.

At the far end of th Quadracci Pavilion sits the War Memorial Center opened in 1955. Designed by the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen design which was influenced by the geometry of modern French architect Le Corbusier.

Turning back to Santiago Calatrava.

View from the suspension bridge.

And to the scene with curvilinear geometry of the interior. This is where the building is far more impressive to me.

The Windhover Hall is the grand entrance hall for the Quadracci Pavilion. It is Santiago Calatrava’s postmodern interpretation of a Gothic Cathedral, complete with flying buttresses, pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and a central nave topped by a 90-foot-high glass roof.