There's an old adage that states it's only what's inside that matters, but the saying doesn't quite apply to museum buildings—or at least it shouldn't. Any good museum worth its salt knows that if it intends to captivate and enchant its visitors with its collections and exhibitions, the inspiration should spark long before they walk through the front doors. The buildings on this list blur the line between art and architecture; they're structures that look unlike anything to have come before. Of course, some—like Thomas Heatherwick's Zeitz MOCCA or the to-be-built Herzog & de Meuron–designed new Vancouver Art Gallery—are stunning examples of contemporary architecture, while other structures such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum have stood the test of time. At once full of wonder and intrigue in addition to pure beauty, the institutions on this list are just as enchanting as the collections they exhibit inside.
Ordos Museum—Ordos, China
Denver Art Museum—Denver, Colorado
The Broad—Los Angeles, California
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Exterior view of the Broad Museum on Grand Avenue on September 29, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by FG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Royal Ontario Museum—Ontario, Canada
Fondation Louis Vuitton—Paris, France
Museum of Islamic Art—Doha, Qatar
Salvador Dalí Museum—St. Petersburg, Florida
Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by: Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)
Niterói Contemporary Art Museum—Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Messner Mountain Museum—Corones, Italy
Milwaukee Art Museum—Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Museum aan de Stroom—Antwerp, Belgium
Metropol Parasol—Seville, Spain
Design Museum Holon—Holon, Israel
Museo Soumaya—Mexico City, Mexico
Guggenheim Museum—New York City, New York
Vancouver Art Gallery—Vancouver, Canada
Herzog & de Meuron.
ArtsSciences Museum—Singapore
Museo Guggenheim Bilbao—Bilbao, Spain
Kunsthaus Graz—Graz, Austria
Art Gallery of Alberta—Alberta, Canada
Zeitz MOCAA—Cape Town, South Africa
Weisman Art Museum—Minneapolis, Minnesota
Leave a Reply