Post Modern attributes of the de young museum:

History:

The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 damaged the old de Young museum building located in Golden Gate Park and uncovered severe seismic flaws in the building and hence a comprehensive plan to rebuild the building in stages was overtaken to make the de Young museum up to date. In January 1999 the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron were chosen to rebuild the De young museum, due to their willingness to engage in an extended process of architectural design and also because their prior work demonstrated a drive to explore new building solutions for each client. Each of Herzog & de Meuron’s prior buildings were known for their strikingly different façade treatments and the use of uncommon …show more content…

These characteristics serve as nostalgic references to the past.

Herzog & de Meuron have a reputation with building buildings with beautiful surfaces and often using radically innovative materials and construction and kept up with that reputation by choosing copper for the buildings façade. Copper being a natural material transforms over time and blends in with the surrounding forest. The mottled and non uniform surface of the building de-emphasizes the shape and bulkiness of the museum.

While choosing the material for the façade of the building Herzog & de Meuron were interested in expressing the identities of the different collections of the museum on the exterior of the building. De young’s eclectic quality and wide-ranging holdings are expressed on the façade through copper panels that are bumped, dimpled and perforated. Inside the building big corridors run alongside the glass walls of the interior courtyards, that allow for the play of light and reflection. The open corridors play a role in the high drama of light, shadow, and skyward views that gives any visitor the unique experience of being in the museum surrounded by nature.

The asymmetrical twisting tower of the museum stands out as a landmark as it twists away from the rectangular outline of the building as if to touch the sky above. The top of the tower is oriented to