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Robert A. Baron
This project contrasts three buildings dedicated to the display of works of art. Two are local and relatively recent: The Guggenheim Museum and the Lehman Wing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The third, which might well be called their “grandfather,” is the Pantheon in Rome. These works share a unity of design and, to some degree, a commonality of purpose. Technically, they are Rotundas, essentially round domed buildings that organize their displays along a predefined circumference. The Lehman differs in the sense that its primal shape begins with a square whose chamfered corners turn its core into an eight-sided structure, which historically connotes eternity.
While these buildings deviate in noteworthy ways, Wright’s Guggenheim is the more closely dependent upon the Pantheon. Respectively, however, each of these works embodies traditional religious symbolism. The Pantheon was built to honor the Roman gods by fusing terrestrial and celestial spheres – made evident by its oculus. Wright’s Guggenheim adds an ascending spiral path to the rotunda formula – traditionally a metaphor for steps leading to spiritual or heavenly purity – like Jacob’s ladder. Today, notoriety, art and scientific accomplishment are replacing spiritual values, as manifest in architectural undertakings that express contemporary ambitions. The Lehman Wing, honoring the donation of an important private collection, also relies on the Rotunda, but more aptly, by celebrating the accomplishments of an individual, it evokes ancient mausolea.
Despite their similarities, space is used differently in these buildings. In the Lehman Wing, major exhibit spaces are compartmentalized and flow, staccato, from gallery to gallery; yet, when works of art are mounted in its circular corridor (see plan), they often seem tangential and out of place. In contrast, the Guggenheim fuses space so that there is a broad range of visibility from just about any position along and across its pathway. Visually, it unites point to point, as if it were a web. As it wends through its given path, it connects one station to another, without sacrificing opportunities for contemplation and discussion.
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