Photographs of the Exterior

Santiago Calatrava based his structure on steel and concrete materials with the exception of the wires holding the bridge and the tempered glass used as windows that are found in many modern skyscrapers. The floor surrounding the structure is composed of concrete and like many museums, the inside is composed of white marble.










"The Milwaukee Art Museum - Santiago Calatrava." The Milwaukee Art Museum - Santiago Calatrava. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <http://www.arcspace.com/features/santiago-calatrava/the-milwaukee-art-museum/>.

Video Featuring the Building

This video surprisingly gave me new insight and information regarding the Milwaukee Art Museum. To start off, this project was Calatrava's first that was made in the U.S. I also found out more about the wings on the building. For starters, they are able to close and open and stay automatically closed when winds exceed 23 mph or when the museum itself is closed. 

"Milwaukee Museum of Art." Youtube. YouTube, LLC, 4 September 2010. Web. 22 September 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1slONyT3nkc

Website Featuring the Building

The travel section under the US News website is a popular destination for opinions and on discovering what to expect when one visits a certain building or city. It begins by praising the architecture and saying how one might feel as if they were trapped inside a whale. It goes on to say that all the +30,000 works of art are able to be seen in about an hours worth of time. Generally, it gives off a good impression of the museum for the visitor.

I would definitely agree with what US News had to say about the Milwaukee Art Museum and I don't doubt that the atmosphere is spectacular. The comparison to being trapped in a whale is bizarre since I don't understand how one could enjoy that. Also, the only way I can imagine seeing 30,000 pieces of art within an hour is if I was running around the entire museum. Even then, I don't think I'd be able to appreciate the art that is there.


"Milwaukee Art Museum." Reviews. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. <http://travel.usnews.com/Milwaukee_WI/Things_To_Do/Milwaukee_Art_Museum_62130/>.

Drawing

I drew the south side of the Milwaukee Art Museum as an individual would see it from Lake Michigan. The museum stands proudly on the shore of the lake, which begins after the dark wall. The wings of the building are meant to be symmetric and the bridge connecting the museum to the park appears behind the museum.  

Journal Article

With so much talk about Santiago Calatrava and the modern Milwaukee Art Museum, I decided to use the magazine/journal requirement to get insight on the historic version of the museum. In the 1975 journal article "The Milwaukee Art Center" takes the modern reader back to observe the additions that architect David Kahler made to what was once just a war memorial with an indecent amount of art work. 

In the article, the fascination of the city is felt as excitement over the "new Milwaukee Art Museum" is described. Although it is nothing compared to the current +30,000 pieces of art that the museum exhibits, the idea of having 6,000 pieces of artwork back in 1975 fascinated the community. David Kahler more than quadrupled the 1957 structure into something worth being proud of. This gives me an insight of what it was like living in the mid 70's and considering that the World Trade Center in New York and the former Sears Tower in Chicago had recently been constructed, I would too be excited that Milwaukee was part of the architectural boom that the U.S. was about to experience, even if it was just for a museum.

In addition to the appearance of the new art museum, recognition was given to the new technology of the structure. The "advanced technology" included 19 projectors, 10 speakers, 2 amplifiers and a quadraphonic tape desk. Considering that Milwaukee wasn't such a large city o begin with, I can imagine why there was so much excitement. 

It wasn't just the architecture that there was to be excited about. The new art museum was to sponsor many upcoming instrumental symposiums, attracting more visitors to the city and assisting in a population growth. Prior to 1975, the war museum wasn't a structure that was used for such attractions, but David Kahler's innovation to the structure made sure that would change. 



"The Milwaukee Art Center." Design 76.6 (1975): 29. ProQuest. Web. 21 Sep. 2014.

Written Interview with Architect Santiago Calatrava

Writer and Editor Robert Ivy interviewed Santiago Calatrava in order to figure out the mind process of such an inspiring architect and get insight on his views of architecture itself. The Milwaukee Art Museum came into discussion as Calatrava's powerful example. 

In the question "Why don't we take one of those projects, [maybe the Milwaukee project], and describe how it has progressed; how it came to be and where you are with it.", Calatrava starts off by explaining that the ideas he presented prior to visiting Milwaukee were vague. It is important to get familiar with the location that the structure is to be placed because not every type of building will compliment or even fit in with every setting. Calatrava especially took Lake Michigan into mind when designing the building and had the idea of changing up the war memorial into a grand museum that compliments the lake front. He explains that he tried very much to influence the building with a sort of "lake culture" which is why you see what are the sails of a sail boat shaped wings on the top of the structure. 

Calatrava also takes into consideration that Milwaukee isn't an "old" city like Rome or Madrid. The multiple buildings and bridges that he designed for these cities already had architecture that was easily recognizable. For instance, it isn't difficult to know that you are looking at a picture of a European city when you see one, but in the case of Milwaukee, Calatrava had a chance to articulate the Building with the city and make something that could represent Milwaukee. 


Ivy, Santiago. "Interview With Santiago Calatrava." Interviews. : Architectural Record, . Print.

Interior Photographs

Photograph

To the left we see an image of the inside part of the building that is facing Lake Michigan. With the glass walls facing the lake, it will be impossible that the sunlight not enter the vast space. The idea of making the walls a powerful white color enhances and reflects the natural light that is entered. It seems that Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava had the intention of affecting the mood of the visitors in a positive aspect. If you walk towards the center of the window/wall you are able to acknowledge the balance and symmetry of each side which is comforting as opposed to an unbalanced building that would make the visitor feel at edge.  

"The Milwaukee Art Museum - Santiago Calatrava." The Milwaukee Art Museum - Santiago Calatrava. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <http://www.arcspace.com/features/santiago-calatrava/the-milwaukee-art-museum/>.

Purpose/Function

The Milwaukee Art Museum serves as an art museum with over 30,000 displays of art and attracts over 400,000 visitors yearly. There are multiple galleries with certain pieces of work per gallery. Certain galleries contains art from the time of the famous European renaissance while other galleries might only contain modern American sculptures; the range is rich and diverse in terms of art.

Included in the complex is an auditorium, reception hall, cafe and stores. 
"Milwaukee Art Museum | Museum Info." Milwaukee Art Museum | Museum Info. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.

Plans

To the left is an image of what appears to be Santiago Calatrava's initial and rough designs on what is now the Milwaukee Art Museum.

On the right is a detailed plan of Santiago Calatrava's idea of the diagonal columns that make the Milwaukee Art Museum the icon that it is today.



Polano, Sergio, and Santiago Calatrava. Santiago Calatrava: Complete Works. Corte Madera, Calif.: Gingko, 1996. Print.
Sharp, Dennis. Santiago Calatrava. 2nd ed. London: E & FN SPON, 1994. Print.

Two Print Sources

Originally, the Milwaukee Art Museum consisted of a somewhat basic concrete structure overlooking lake Michigan. This structure was designed by architect Eero Saarinen in 1957 and partially served as a war memorial with an art gallery. In 1975, architect David Kahler set out to expand the structure in order to have a larger exhibit. It was until 1994 that the Trustees of the Milwaukee Art Museum hired architect Santiago Calatrava and transformed the simple museum into the white bird-like structure that we know and see today. In addition to the modern Milwaukee Art Museum, Calatrava added the Remain Bridge that connects the museum to the William F. O'Donnell Park in Downtown Milwaukee.  

In the following book based on Calatrava's works, a moment is taken to explain what inspired the certain wing shaped effect on the building. He denies that there was any biomorphic (bird-like) inspiration for his work although many seem to identify a seagull with the museum since it overlooks the large Lake Michigan and does in fact look like a seagull. Recognition is also given to the architect Dan Kiley, who is responsible for the gardens that surround the structure enhancing its beauty. 

Lefaivre, Liane, and Alexander Tzonis. Santiago Calatrava. 1.st ed. Milano: Motta Architettura, 2009. Print.

Jodidio, Philip, and Santiago Calatrava. Santiago Calatrava. Köln: Taschen, 2003. Print.

Google Earth Image

Above is an aerial view of the Milwaukee Art Museum. Surrounding the museum is Lake Michigan to the east and downtown two parks to the west and south. North of the museum the complex continues with parking spaces. If you pass the park on the west you will discover that downtown Milwaukee surrounds the museum making this structure a museum within a park within a business district. This feature could make it comparable to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art since it faces the busy Manhattan skyline to the front and the serene central park to the back.  

“Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” Map. Google Maps. Google, 23 July 2009. Web. 20 September 2014.

Flickr Image

This Flickr image taken by Flickr username: tanakawho depicts the intense symmetry of this museum. Seen from the aerial image depicted by Google earth, this bridge connects the museum to the William F. O'Donnell Park. Looking into the bridge specifically, the multiple columns on both sides of the bridge and the fact that they are slanted towards the direction of the museum is sure to make the visitor move faster and become more inclined to visiting the museum. Generally, the idea of multiple columns sets a rhythm to move faster. 

The flow of pedestrians runs in direction toward the museum which are closed in the upper left image could signify that perhaps this museum is closed having no need to attract visitors. The idea of a straight classical bridge disappears as we see an incline on this bridge amplifying the motivation for the visitor.













Tanakawho. "Milwaukee Art Museum." 26 April 2008. Online Image. Flickr. 20 September 2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/2444014239/in/set-72157605240661437

Basic Facts

    Name: Milwaukee Art Museum
    Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Architect(s): Eero Saarinen, David Kahler, Santiago Calatrava
    Construction Details:
                      1957 (Milwaukee County War Memorial)
                      1972-1975 (expansion of building)
                      1994-2001 (modernization of current building)

"The Milwaukee Art Museum - Santiago Calatrava." The Milwaukee Art Museum - Santiago Calatrava. 9 July 2001. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.