Yann Weymouth of HOK designed the Salvador Dali art Museum artin St. Petersburg Florida, completed in 2011. The cold concrete box refers to the old museum from 1982, a gray uninviting warehouse. Geodesic spills out the front in a sparkling organic geometry and pouring out into the landscape.
This surreal form is massive, at 75 ft high and 105 ft wide. The dichotomy between concrete and glass, rigid and organic, also involves safety. The building is designed to withstand 165-mph wind of any storm that might hit it. The exterior contcrete is 18 inches thick.
A staircase swirles up from the front lobby in a double helix to a kind of dome, diminishing as it rises. Concrete, steel, and glazing come together at this point, in a wonderful interplay of materials and form.
(CityofStPete– flickr/creative commons license)
(CityofStPete– flickr/creative commons license)
(gordontarpley– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTaylor Devicious– flickr/creative commons license)
(burlap– flickr/creative commons license)
(CityofStPete– flickr/creative commons license)
