Architecture: First Thinking, Then Building

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The gray wood then flows into the museum, forming the floor and ceiling of the theater space before flowing back outside to coat the underside of the cantilever. It all has to do with obscuring the distinction between inside and outside--there's that blur again--and is another example of how Diller and Scofidio have managed to work their ideas about space into an actual space. Not only that, but into a museum that, though it functions as a platform for first-rate, intellectually ambitious shows, must also struggle for revenue in less pristine ways. So like any other museum these days, it will have rentable party spaces and a gift shop, this one with an entrance pointed strategically in the direction of new retail development that's planned for an area across the way. (Yoo-hoo! Shoppers! Over here!) But why shouldn't it? For better or worse, no museum can survive today if it doesn't make itself visible in the marketplace. Diller and Scofidio would know that, of course. They think a lot about visibility. For many reasons, they ought to be very pleased with what this building will do for theirs.