Lighting a museum is always a difficult task... While many would love to see large expanses of glass, where natural sites are the backdrop for the artwork, this generally isn't feasible. Besides needing to protect the artwork, two dimensional artwork is best viewed with diffused light (versus sculptural works which can easily be viewed in bright high contrast lighting). Thomas Phifer and Partners has designed a beautiful structure for the North Carolina Museum of Art where two dimensional and three dimensional art are viewed in the best manner possible. The sections of the galleries are quite interesting, illustrating the manner in which the designer has created diffused light. It looks like it will be quite a stunning building when completed in 2009.Also, as a side note... I have to say that these renderings are quite spectacular. There were a few on the website that I had to check and make sure weren't actual photos (like the interior image at the top). Kudos to the renderer.
Thanks to The Art of Where for introducing me to this firm.
