The Downward Spiral
The Guggenheim is udergoing a $29 million facelift. This follows a full restoration to the interior 15 years ago. It's not news that a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright would show signs of gross deterioration at 50 years. In fact, a press release on the Guggenheim website states, Wright is "notorious for the failures of his buildings, often structural in nature." With the Guggenheim, he made many compromises, such as refusing to insert horizontal supports in the building, feeling it would destroy the monolithic appearance. Wright wanted it to appear as if the building were carved from a single piece of stone.
After removing 11 layers of paint this summer, the city discovered a ruptured building. You can't help being taken aback by its blistered, crumbling, and biopsied appearance, especially after the conservators used oilstick to annotate each break in the building’s surface. This week, a debate arose surrounding the color of paint to use on the building once it is fully restored. Wright first painted the building a sulfurous yellow, but subsequent coats made it the iconic white structure that most people recognize. Those who oppose returning to Wright's original colors argue that the building has undergone two additions since it first opened (the Thannhauser gallery along with an unremarkable detail by Frank Gehry). As such, the building cannot truly be considered a Wright design anymore, and therefore unecessary to honor his vision. Regardless, as it stands now, I don't think I've noticed how impressive and imposing it stands. Posted On: October 12, 2007
|
