Architecture of Guggenheim Museum

Museums have always been a center of attention for the art they display, but The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a center of attention for being a work of art itself, besides the art it displays. Guggenheim Museum is very unique in terms of its structure, design, shape and simplicity. Frank Lloyd Wright is the architect of this extraordinary building. It was built from1956 to 1959. This museum is located at 1071, Fifth Av., in New York City. This location carefully selected by Wright due to its proximity to Central Park. The exterior of the building contrasts with its surrounding. The interior of this building is designed in a way that makes the display of the art, easier and more interesting.
Since this museum is located in New York, it is surrounded by tall rectangular buildings. Solomon R. Guggenheim’s art advisor, Hilla Rebay, approached Frank Lloyd Wright and asked to create a building that would "stir the soul." Hilla Rebay wrote to Frank Lloyd Wright in 1943, "I need a fighter, a lover of space, an agitator, a tester, and a wise man... I want a temple of spirit, a monument!" Even though Wright did not like New York for its architecture personally, he ended up giving New York a spectacular monument. Wright preferred working in natural environment. He finally decided to locate this building in front of the Central Park. Wright intended to include the same function of the building as that in the world of nature, where the form follows a function unlike the main exposers of the modern movement.
This museum contrasts the surroundings completely with its circular shape. Its façade is clean and white, and the gaps between levels absorb the light into darkness. These create contrasting bands of white and black, and set an example to be followed by many others in the future. The building’s exterior is both simple and fascinating at the same time. The museum has also been compared to a ziggurat for its upside down spiral. The first floor has a large curved overhang which works as an invitation to the loggia underneath. A bridge links the outside to the inside.
The interior of the museum plays a major role in perfectly displaying the art collection. The inside space is a continual upwards movement using a six-floor spiral with galleries which spread out from the first ramp indicated by a large water fountain in the central room on the ground floor. Upon entrance in the building, the elevator takes to the highest level of the building. Then, the visitors can easily walk down the spiral while enjoying the art. The gentle slope of the spiral makes the display of art interesting by giving no interruption. It is also true that one is always on a slope while viewing art and some visitors and critiques object to it. But the slope is almost unnoticeable because of the fact that it is very gentle and makes its way down very slowly. Unlike the traditional museum with galleries, this museum provides a better display of it’s art collection. This spiral shape works as a system that solves a long-standing problem in the world of art.
The diameter of the spiral as it curves upwards allows for the entrance of light at each level installing in the visitor a sense of luminosity and tranquility. The central area is covered with a transparent dome. The continual spiral movement suggests a more closely natural bond between the creator and the exposed work of art seen along the path. The roof has a continual series of glass window slits, the main font of the illumination, which introduce an interesting co-efficiency of variability linked to the alternating of day and night.
The museum is named after the founder Solomon R Guggenheim.