Preserving The Past or Past Preserving: Sustaining The Legacy of Postmodern Museum Architecture

Armstrong and Kapp Built Heritage (2022) 6:12 Built Heritage
https://doi.org/10.1186/s43238-022-00055-z
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
Preserving the past or past preserving:

sustaining the legacy of postmodern museum
architecture
Paul J. Armstrong1* and Paul H. Kapp1
Abstract
The publication of Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture in 1964 signaled the end of Modernism. The real-
ity was that the modern movement had already jettisoned its ideological underpinnings and had become merely
another ‘style.’ The avant garde architects in Europe and in North America were ready to move on and saw Postmod-
ernism as a liberating antidote to the strictures of high Modernism. Historic architectural styles, which had been
vilified as antiquated and out of step with modern culture, were revived, reinterpreted, and manipulated. However,
Postmodernism, which had burned brightly during the 1970s and 1980s, was superseded by other architectural
movements, namely, Deconstructivism, Pluralism, during the waning years of the 12th century.
Even though new building forms and design theory changed during Postmodernism, building technology remained
the same. Exterior walls continued to be built as skins, comprised of either glass, masonry, metal, or synthetic cladding,
which were hung of steel or concrete framing. Rubberised membranes covered essentially flat roofs. Moisture infiltration
was managed in ever complex composite wall assemblies. More important, environmental systems decoupled nature
from interiors and were designed to manage ever demanding humidity control requirements. Through the development
of new building technology, Modernism severed design style from traditional construction. In re-introducing historical
forms back into architecture, Postmodernism complicated constructability. Moreover, Postmodernism and its successors
rarely developed new technological ideas by introducing more intricate building forms, which were based on theoreti-
cal ideas rather than technical ones, while continuing to employ Modernism building technology into their buildings.
This inherent paradox is the most consequential challenge in preserving Postmodernism. Today, approximately 40 years
after its inception, we must consider if, in some cases. is it tenable to preserve Postmodern buildings?
This paper reassesses three museums of the Postmodern era through the twin lenses of historic preservation and their
legacy as cultural artifacts. It analyses how three iconic Postmodern museums, the Wexner Centre for the Arts
in the USA, the Neue Staatsgalerie in Germany, and the Hedmark Museum in Norway, became cultural artifacts
and how each of them present technical challenges for their future preservation. These museums represent late 20th
century theoretical ideas, which were more a melding of pluralistic influences than design ideology, and the utilisa-
tion of Modernist technology. All of which present unique conditions for conservation.
Keywords Postmodernism, Modern movement, Preservation, Museums, Materials, Technology, Moisture, Memory,
Adaptation
*Correspondence:
Paul J. Armstrong
[email protected]
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which
permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the
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Armstrong and Kapp Built Heritage (2022) 6:12 Page 2 of 19
1 Introduction building depreciation, building obsolescence became a

Beginning with Viollet-le-Duc in France and John Ruskin design criterion (Buyle, Braet, and Audenaert 2013). In
in the United Kingdom in the 19th century, preservation- the late 20th century, architects, engineers, building com-
ists, architects, and historians have applied a science- ponents manufacturers acknowledged in their designs
based approach often inserting new physical elements that the buildings they were designing were built for a
to conserve historic buildings and monuments for future 30 year lifespan. Today, preservationists grapple with the
generations (Vaccaro 1996; Jokilehto 2007). challenge of conserving buildings that were designed and
Conservationists and preservationists have encoun- built to eventually fail.
tered challenges in restoring or adapting each new gen- As architects and preservationists consider how to
eration added to the built patrimony. Many of these preserve postmodern buildings and its legacy, they must
buildings, sites, and monuments contain important also ask to what extent are postmodern buildings worth
legacies about the eras and cultures for which they were preserving? As this paper shows, not all postmodern
constructed and lessons for future architects, planners, buildings should be preserved due, primarily, to compli-
cultural historians, and others who study them and apply cated and poor construction techniques, use of inexpen-
their principles (Plevoets and Van Cleempoel 2012; sive non-durable materials, and expensive retrofitting
Wong 2016). More recently, preservationists have turned of inefficient HVAC, lighting, and information systems.
their attention to postmodern buildings created during Buildings that can and should be preserved are those
the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike older, pre-modern build- that have been constructed with more durable materials,
ings that were constructed with robust materials, such less complicated construction processes, and sustainable
as masonry, stone, and heavy timbers, and natural pas- building systems.
sive ventilation and daylighting, postmodern buildings Museums are often iconic heritage buildings that give iden-
were built with modern, lighter and less durable mate- tity to cities and communities, so many preservationists argue
rials; complex heating, ventilation, and air condition- that these buildings be preserved or reused for present and
ing (HVAC) equipment; and, sophisticated lighting and future generations (Jacobs 1961). But what happens when
communication systems. buildings have been constructed for obsolescence? This paper
The hallmark of modern architecture has been ‘form analyses how three iconic Postmodern museums, the Wexner
follows function’ in which the building manifested the Centre for the Arts in the USA, the Neue Staatsgalerie in Ger-
essential requirements of human occupation, use of many, and the Hedmark Museum in Norway, present techni-
industrial materials and components, and integration of cal challenges for their future preservation.
state-of-the-art technology and building systems (Sulli-
van 1965; Gombrich 1978). Postmodern architects, criti- 2 From modern to postmodern
cal of the inherent abstraction and machine analogies of The ideological underpinnings of the Modern Movement
the Modern Movement, eschewed the ‘rationalism of began in the late 19th century with industrialisation and
the engineer’ and manipulated historical building styles, the introduction of new building materials, particularly
forms, and elements to reinstate architecture with tradi- cast-iron, glass, and steel.1 These revolutionary materi-
tional syntaxes and meanings that, ostensibly, could be als allowed architects and engineers to create lighter,
universally understood. Ironically, these manipulations stronger, and more efficient buildings. Architects grap-
produced even greater complexity with buildings over- pled with the problem of how to aesthetically express
laid with pastiches of stylistic borrowings that offered these new, modern technologies.
critiques of architecture from within its own privileged The purest expression of modern skeletal construction
culture in a coded language that only the initiated could was achieved by Joseph Paxton in the Crystal Palace con-
decipher. Furthermore, they often used inexpensive structed for the Great Exposition of 1851 in London. Pax-
materials, such as synthetic stucco, applied over exterior ton first explored the ideas that led to the Crystal Palace
insulating finish assemblies, to simulate historical details with his greenhouse design for the Duke of Devonshire at
such as dentils, architraves, ornamental cornices and the Chatsworth—it was inspired by the vascular section of a
like. Consequently, rather than building to withstand water lily—the Crystal Palace was a prefabricated build-
the ‘test of time’ and endure for centuries, postmodern ing of cast iron components and glass. Its form follows
architecture was often built within the framework of ‘Life function approach to design and aesthetics became the
Cycle Assessment’ (LCA), a twentieth and 21st century
methodology that considered a ‘cradle-to-grave’ build-
ing existence. Through the use of materials, created to 1
Despite technological advances, the idea that history and civilisation were
eventually decay, and construction financing, based on inherently progressive came under scrutiny. Consequently, some historians
see Modernism as a continuation of Romanticism’s revolt against industri-
alisation and bourgeoise values.
model for many subsequent modern buildings of the 20th features; they also have to do with physical well-being,
century2 (Le Corbusier 1985). social rituals and representations, as well as with associ-
The 1939 MOMA exhibition in New York City and ated concepts such as values and emotions, as a histori-
eponymous catalogue The International Style pre- cal, symbolic and aesthetic resource, but also as being
sented modern architecture as a unitary style global in endowed with social, economic and ecological value. This
scope (Johnson and Hitchcock 1939). However, by the raises a fundamental question: Does the building or the
early 1960s, the ideology of the Modern Movement had design idea hold supremacy in conservation, restoration
waned. The notion of a transcendent universal ‘style’ dic- and reuse?
tated by function and perfected through technology ulti- In the case of postmodern architecture discussions are
mately led to ubiquitous and monotonous concrete- and exacerbated both by the material, technical and functional
steel-framed buildings clad in glass curtain walls. fragility of this heritage, and by the growing importance
Robert Venturi took issue with modernism’s anti- that historiography attributes to the idea and design
historical stance in Complexity and Contradiction in phase of the architectural work. By simple virtue of their
Architecture where he derided the stripped-down func- own longevity, surviving neoclassical and other histori-
tionalism and brutalism of modern buildings declar- cist monuments have already shepherded themselves into
ing ‘less is a bore’ (Venturi 1977). Instead, he turned to the pantheon of history. Their materials and methods of
Mannerism where post-Renaissance architects manipu- building are different enough from our own to distill the
lated rules of proportion, scale, and composition and particulate of theory, fabric, and history into the distant
elements for aesthetic effect and personal expression. past and the now (Rogers 2011). In contrast, many post-
The house he designed for his mother was a complex modern buildings were built with temporality in mind
amalgamation and abstraction of architectural styles, designed by architects who were often constrained by
motifs, and elements that could be intelligibly deci- limited budgets and more concerned with composition
phered and decoded by the educated eye yet compre- than posterity.
hended by the public. Postmodern architects, engineers, and material sup-
The prevailing myth that Modern architects rejected pliers were pushing new materials and innovative con-
history served to distance modernism from the past and struction technologies as a way to create Postmodern
its cultural baggage. Within the postmodern strain of his- design elements (Meijer 2016). Continuous innovation
toricism, functional pragmatics and material construc- in building skins reintroduced porcelain enamel panels,
tion returned. Longstreth (2000) postulates that ‘History a product brought by Lustron to the building industry
was welcomed back [during the Postmodern Movement] during the housing boom following World War II. New
as a counter to abstraction.’ However, the willingness of skins made from Glass Fiber Resin (GFR) capable of
postmodern historicism ‘to ransack history revealed being molded in classical curves and ornamental shapes
[itself ] in its vocabulary as fundamentally disrespectful favored by Postmodern design were created. Innova-
of history, and even more disrespectful of the present’ tions in brick technology including large scale brick
(Longstreth 2000). As Anthony Vidler 193) contends the panels made from a single wythe of masonry to panels
modernists understood history as the Zeitgeist of a new whose outer face was only one-half inch of masonry, or
age enacting social change. Conversely, the postmodern- thin bricks. Improvements in resins created new wood
ists embraced an ‘ahistorical myth’ in which they selec- or simulated wood products and adhesives for mount-
tively used whatever authorising sign to fit the moment. ing faux finishes to structural systems. Perhaps one of
the more ubiquitous new materials used in the crea-
3 Problems in conservation and construction tion of Postmodern architecture was the faux stucco
Like most historic buildings, postmodern architecture product Dryvit,3 an Exterior Insulation Finishing Sys-
faces the same three major threats: demolition, deferred tem (EIFS). Like porcelain enamel panels, EIFS was
maintenance and alteration/loss of integrity (Saunders introduced as insulated wall assemblies as a means to
2019). Grignolo (2018) argues that recent past build- improve energy performance during the world’s energy
ings should not be considered merely for their aesthetic crisis of the 1970s.
In order to conserve delicate and often price-
less artwork, museums require constant indoor air
2
Mies van der Rohe embraced the ‘honest’ expression of materials and
details in ground-breaking buildings, such as the German Pavilion (1929)
in Barcelona, Spain and the Farnsworth House (1951) in Plano, Illinois. Le
Corbusier argued for a program of pragmatic rationalism reflecting the ‘aes-
thetic of the engineer’ in Towards a New Architecture. His villa architecture
3
of the 1920a and 1930s extolled the efficiency of the modern machine age ‘Dryvit’ is a proprietary name of an Exterior Insulation Finishing System.
and expressed domestic architecture as a ‘machine for living.’ Tremco Construction Products, Inc. owns Dryvit Systems.
temperatures of 70 ° F and humidity levels of 55%4 4 Re‑interpreting the past

(Thomson 1978, 114; Schellen and Martens 2008). The Postmodernism is ‘an eclectic and colorful style of archi-
composite walls of many postmodern buildings—com- tecture and the decorative arts that appeared in the late
prised of thin veneer-like cladding materials sealed with 1970s and continues in some form today’ (RIBA 2021).
caulk, fiberglass batt insulation, and interior finishes all Some of its architectural characteristics include poly-
sealed within permeable vapor barriers—tend to allow chromatic cladding materials, thin-cut stone, and exte-
moisture migration into wall cavities. Uncontrolled rior insulated panels covered in thin-coat plaster that
moisture is the most prevalent cause of deterioration could be shaped, molded, and painted. Steel structural
in older and historic buildings (Park 1996). It leads to framing allowed architects to suspend and layer light-
erosion, corrosion, rot, and ultimately the destruction weight materials to create spatial and three-dimensional
of materials, finishes, and eventually structural compo- effects and scalar transitions from building entrances and
nents. Ever-present in our environment, moisture can street facades to horizontal cornices and entablatures to
be controlled to provide the differing levels of moisture skyscraping crowns.
necessary for human comfort as well as the longevity Venturi later complained that his intentions had been
of historic building materials, furnishings, and museum misinterpreted (Kahl 2008). He recognised that most
collections. The challenge to building owners and pres- people yearn for the use of understandable symbolism
ervation professionals alike is to understand the patterns within their buildings. Therefore, regional architecture
of moisture movement in order to better manage it—not was good architecture. On the other hand, the self-
necessarily to eliminate it. referential codes, exaggerated scales and proportions
Because the materials and construction used in post- of architectural elements such as columns, pediments,
modern buildings are dictated by LCA rather than longev- and entablatures, and the layered collages and patterns
ity, we must consider the problem of authenticity when of materials and colors reduced buildings to kitsch and
preserving them. In other words, should the same mate- vulgar expressions of low-brow culture and cast many
rials be used to maintain the buildings’ provenance even Postmodern buildings as expendable commodities of
though they are inferior? Grignolo (2018) points out that consumer culture.
authenticity contributes to the ‘making’ of buildings as well In essence, architects were merely applying (arguably
as heritage. This notion is crucial in the theory and prac- too literally) the lessons Venturi, Izenour, and Scott-
tice of conservation and it was codified and challenged in Brown presented in Learning from Las Vegas (Venturi,
Nara Document on Authenticity, which expanded the idea Scott-Brown, and Izenour 1977). The place-less-ness
of authenticity to include building technology and design and banality of the Las Vegas strip, which had become
as heritage. In the case of Modern and Postmodern archi- the ubiquitous consequence of the American automo-
tecture discussions are exacerbated both by the material, bile age, reflected the post-World War II U.S. cultural
technical and functional fragility of this heritage, and by shift from rootedness to mobility. Inexpensive, func-
the growing importance that historiography attributes to tionalist, box-like buildings with applied bill-board
the idea and design phase of the architectural work. The facades illuminated by neon viewed from a moving
latter is apparent in an increasingly frequent interest for automobile became a form of advertising and brand-
posthumous reconstructions or constructions, borderline ing writ large. Architects parodied the exaggerated
cases in which authenticity is reduced to the idea. David advertising techniques that had already pervaded radio,
Lowenthal stated it best, ‘Authenticity is in practice never television, and mass communication in extravagantly
absolute, always relative’ (Lowenthal 1995). designed Postmodern buildings.5
Many Postmodern buildings incorporate systems or By contrast, some European and Nordic architects took
components that are neither produced nor currently a different approach in which past and present coexist.
assembled in similar manners due to improvements in Adaptive reuse of older buildings and reinterpretation of
technology and building envelope science. Therefore, the modern design and aesthetic principles combined with
process and method of building restoration, rehabilita- regional and cultural attributes have enabled designers to
tion, and/or focused envelope repair could dramatically
impact the exterior character of Postmodern structures,
which can have a negative impact on the authenticity and 5
In 1983, Ricardo Bofil applied exaggerated-scale classical elements to
historical value of the buildings as artifacts (Meijer 2016). the facades of a Beaux Arts inspired public housing complex Les Espaces
d’Abraxas on the outskirt of Paris. Michael Graves parodied the caryatid
columns of the Erechtheion with the Seven Dwarfs orders in the Team Dis-
4
Most of these guidelines are derived from ‘The Museum Environment’ from Thomson from 1978. In this
ney Building in Burbank, California in 1990. The New York-based firm SITE
edition 55%RH is a recommended mean value for mixed collections, with acceptable deviations from plus manipulated the facades and corners of the Best department stores. And in
or minus 5%RH. Thomson himself indicated that these deviation values were not based on pure research, Chicago Stanley Tigerman applied a cutout façade of a dog face to an other-
but that these were values that were feasible for the HVAC systems from that time. wise non-descript Anti-Cruelty Society Animal Shelter in 1980.
endlessly adapt buildings to the exigencies and genius loci where design trumps technology. In contrast, the Hed-
of climate, culture, and place (Giedeon 1941; Norberg- mark Museum at Hamar, Norway preserves the archeol-
Schulz 1979). This process ensures that as old buildings ogy of the Bishopric ruins and the display of its artifacts.
are repurposed or new buildings are constructed their Built over the course of three decades, it exemplifies
relationship to the land, people, and environment will not the timelessness of thoughtful design realised through
be compromised or jeopardised. Rather than conforming organic materials and points the way toward preserving
to fashion, contextual architects took a longer and more the past with sustainable architecture.
measured view of the cultural and environmental conse-
quences of design and building. 5.1 Wexner Centre for the Arts
Designed by Peter Eisenman in 1989, the Wexner
5 Three postmodern museums Centre for the Arts (the Wexner) at The Ohio State
Museums, concert halls, and theaters are among the University (OSU) (Fig. 1) was dubbed by critic Paul
most significant cultural institutions and, by their nature, Goldberger ‘The Museum that Theory Built’ (Gold-
should be maintained and preserved for posterity. Classi- berger 1989). A contemporary art laboratory, it was
cally designed buildings constructed of durable materials one of the first deconstructivist buildings to be built
seldom go out of style; hence, they transcend their own in the U.S. (Grimberg 2012). Deconstructivism is a
epoch. The question is: what happens when style trumps postmodern style that exhibits fragmentation and dis-
constructability? When buildings become expendable tortion of structure, as if taking a coherent building
commodities subject to changing trends, they become apart and then chaotically reassembling it. To concen-
tropes that lose continuity with the past and their pur- trate attention on his formal investigations, Eisenman
pose and inevitable preservation become questionable. has adapted a revision of the International Style that
The Wexner Centre for the Performing Arts at Ohio he calls ‘cardboard architecture’ (Fig. 2) (Gebhard and
State University and the Neue Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Nevins 1977).
Germany were critically acclaimed for their avant garde, Buildings continuously experience different types of
postmodern designs when they were opened to the pub- deterioration, including aging, weathering, and deple-
lic. They represented the epitome of architectural art tion by use (Jokilehto 2007). The level of building wear
Fig. 1 Wexner Centre for the Performing Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Peter Eisenman Associates architects (Source: Columbia
University Avery Library)
Fig. 2 Left: Peter Eisenman with model of the Wexner Centre for the Arts. Right: the Armory Building, Ohio State University, Columbus (Source:
Library of Congress)
Fig. 3 Typical EIFS wall section. EIFS is an economical exterior cladding system that can be compromised by ultraviolet sunlight and weathering
from rain, snow, ice, and wind introducing cold dry air during winter months or warm humid air during summer months into interior rooms.
(Source: the authors)
depends on structure, materials, and maintenance, so winter and thaw as temperatures rise in the spring caus-
repair techniques may vary as a consequence based ing separation of the stucco from the insulation of the
on diffferent beuilding cultures and technologies. The panels and oxidation of the metal hardware that anchors
Wexner Centre was constructed around a structural steel the panels.
frame, providing a ‘scaffold’ on which other materials are The gridded steel scaffolding around the building and
then applied. the skylighted ‘spine’ along its main circualtion axis are
Shortly after it was opened, the Wexner began hav- exposed to the elements inviting multiple problems
ing problems due to its complicated construction (Jones related to thermal expansion between the steel frame-
1990). Too much light entered the building for the exhibit work and glazing as well as between the building and the
of art. Heating and cooling systems were inefficient in scaffolding. Other issues include a leaky roof caused by
the 1980s. Furthermore, the detailing of complex tubu- the crooked intersection of planes, and material issues
lar steel scaffolding and volumetric building masses were at other areas in the building. Skylights let in too much
never completely resolved (Ohio History Central 2021; direct sunlight, causing damage to artwork in galleries
Pogrebin 2005). and temperature fluctuations of up to 40 degrees indoors
The Wexner Centre uses an Exterior Insulation Finish- (Grimberg 2012). Thermal bridging6 caused by the emer-
ing System (EIFS), which is rigid insulation coated with gence of the steel spine at the entrance of the building
a thin layer of stucco for exterior cladding (Fig. 3). EIFS allows cold air to migrate through the structure into the
is relatively inexpensive and, because it combines both building during winter months. Thermal bridging can be
insulation and exterior finish, reduces construction time prevented by breaking the connection between outdoor
and costs. However, it can be easily damaged allowing and indoor componets, but Eisenman, who is a formalist,
water to infiltrate behind the panels. Other problems was not concerned with the Wexner Centre’s ‘technical
include incorrect selection or application of sealants, or issues’: ‘There’s not an architect I know that doesn’t have
missing sealants, which provides an easy path for water problems with important buildings’ (Pogrebin 2005).
entry and premature deterioration. A base coat that is Human comfort and function are the primary rea-
too thin provides insufficient waterproofing protection, sons for constructing buildings. Yet, Eisenman placed
whereas a base coat that is too thick may lead to cracking 6
Thermal bridging is the movement of heat across an object that is more
(Sanders and Robinson 2014). conductive than materials around it. The conductive material creates a
In the midwest, where temperatures can vary season- path of least resistance for heat. This phenomenon has become common in
ally by 100 °F (38 °C) or more, water will freeze during the multi-component contemporary wall assemblies. Charles Binggeli (2010).
Building Systems for Interior Designers. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Fig. 4 OSU campus plan c. 1998 (left) and organisation diagram and section of the Wexner Centre for the Arts (right), The Ohio State University,
1989. (Source: the authors)
less emphasis on these important design factors in favor The Wexner site was originally occupied by the Armory
of formal manipulations of grids and interior spaces to Building that was razed (Fig. 2). Eisenmann reconstituted
‘unsettle’ perceptions of the building (Langdon 2014). its foundation and its red-brick turrets as Postmodern
This objective is candidly embraced by the OSU adminis- ruins.7 One of the turrets is sliced by the grid shift with
tration, which values the Wexner Centre’s ‘daring design’ the two halves offset from one another. The re-imagined
(Wex 2021). brick-clad remnants of the Armory Building are also a
The Wexner Centre includes a theater, art galleries, and nod to the traditional red brick buildings that dominate
studios each requiring different lighting, acoustical, and the OSU campus, whereas the aggressive steel grid arma-
mechanical environmental control systems (Fig. 4). The tures that interpose on interior spaces sets it apart. The
efficiencies of these systems are constantly changing so slicing of the turrets invites more problems with water
they need upgrading and replacement as they wear out. infiltration, uneven settlement of foundations between
Humidity and constant temperatures must be maintained the turrets and other building elements, and deteriora-
throughout the building, especially in art galleries. Thus, tion of the brick cladding due to spalling of the brick sur-
maintaining and replacing the Wexner Centres mechani- faces, as a result of water damage, and effervescence of
cal systems is also costly.
7
There are two versions of the Armory foundations. In one version, the
existing foundations have been incorporated into the new building. In
another account, the original foundations were demolished when the site
was cleared and had to be rebuilt.
Fig. 5 Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany, 1984. James Stirling & Michael Wilford architects. (Source: Columbia University Avery Library)
the mortar joints resulting from leaching of the lime from but also frequently overlook basic construction princi-
the mortar itself. ples.8 As Phil Myrick writes: ‘Billions of dollars go into
The amalgam of elements and quotations give the building facilities that hide their assets behind blank walls.
building a collage-like feeling reflected in Eisenman’s If a tiny part of the investment was directed to bringing the
drawings and supported by the jury’s observations building program to the outside, it would make a vast dif-
that ‘the design proposal affirms the interactive roles of ference on people’s experience of the campus’ (Walljasper
memory and invention as catalysts for the visual arts’ by 2008; Project for Public Spaces 2015).
provoking speculation and uncertainty. Thus, he coyly Working with Arup Engineers, the university spent
integrates occupants’ experiences of the building with its $15.8 million to retrofit the building—one third the origi-
campus environment while simultaneously making the nal cost of the building—specifying that the goal was
users aware of its formal manipulations thus dislocating to preserve its original integrity (Levine 2021). Eventu-
it in space and time. ally, the rate of disrepair may exceed the cost and time
Enticing ‘star architects’ to design buildings on college dedicated to the maintenance of the overall building
campuses often faces universities with considerable debt complicating its long-term value and, ultimately, its
and long-term operational and maintenance expenses. sustainability.
Most of these ‘signature campus buildings’ cripple univer-
sities with unwelcome deferred maintenance expenses that 5.2 The Neue Staatsgalerie
were uncommon with buildings built during the first half The Neue Staatsgalerie, designed by British architects
of the 20th century. Furthermore, once the architect leaves, James Stirling and Michael Wilford in 1984, is conceived
the academic community is left to deal with the fallout of
buildings that don’t just ignore their surrounding contexts,
8
Notably, MIT sued Frank Gehry when his $300 million Stata Center made
headlines not for its eye-catching deconstructivist design but for the ‘perva-
sive leaks, cracks and drainage problems that have required costly repairs.’
Fig. 6 Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany, 1984. Above: Site plan. Below: building section (Source: the authors)
both as a ruin and as an ‘inside-outside’ building (Fig. 5). invoke the timeless, yet ever-evolving essence of art and
Repeated bombings of Stuttgart by Allied Forces during architecture (Kroll 2011). Each function is represented by
World War II had left the remnants of many buildings as different volumes organised on two levels that conform
burnt out shells. The consequences of the war and defeat to the terrain of the site (Fig. 6) (Glusberg 1993).
left the German people physically scarred, economically The Neue Staatsgalerie is clad in horizontal bands of
weakened, and psychologically humiliated (Barkin and thin-cut stone veneer applied over a steel structure. Some
Sheehan 2021). Its cultural and psychic ‘fragments’ are critics compare the layout of the floor plan of the Neue
expressed by the architectural fragments of the Neue Staatsgalerie to Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s Altes Museum
Staatsgalerie. in Berlin with a centralised rotunda surrounded by galler-
The competition brief emphasised the urgency of ies and services.8 The ‘rotunda’ of the Neue Staatsgalerie
restoring the spatial and historical continuity of the forms an exterior courtyard wrapped by a spiraling
urban fabric by enhancing pedestrian movement. The ramp that leads the visitor through the site and into the
program included three components: 1) an expansion museum. Sculptural building elements, glass-and-steel
of the Staatsgalerie, 2) a new theater building, and 3) a canopies, and undulating walls of glass gather light into
music school building. Contextualising the museum into the interior corridors and galleries.9
Stuttgart’s urban fabric and history was an imperative in As the Staatsgallerie ages its continued historical and
the design so that ‘the new building should contribute to cultural value must be reassessed against the real costs
the historical significance of the area by way of establish- of operation, maintenance and eventual restoration.
ing relationships with other historical buildings’ (Filler
1984). Stirling combined the traditional design elements 9
According to members of the architectural team, the designers used their
of Classical 19th Century museums with modern, com- previous museum competition project for Düsseldorf, the Kunstsammlung
NordrheinWestfalen, (Rodiek 1984; Stirling 1984), and the historical Temple
plimentary industrial materials that would ultimately of Fortuna as their starting point.
Stirling’s early buildings included the History and Fac- in the future will require excavating around most of the
ulty Building at Cambridge, completed in 1968 where he building adding to its preservation costs. Humidity lev-
and partner James Gowan struggled to study alternately els in museums and art galleries are notoriously difficult
freezing/overheating greenhouse, poor acoustics, fre- to maintain consistently. The constant influx of people
quent leaks and falling cladding tiles, which ‘incubated through a room cause the temperature and humidity to
a deep loathing of the building’ (Saint 2011). In 1984 fluctuate. Maintenance is also an issue as HVAC equip-
the pro-Stirling critic Reyner Banham wrote that ‘any- ment will need to be maintained frequently due to the
one will know who keeps up with the English highbrow long operating hours. Anything that is costly to maintain
weeklies…the only approvable attitude to James Stirling will quickly become very expensive (Gates 2021).
is one of sustained execration and open or veiled accu- Painted steel-and-glass canopies, skylights, exterior steel
sations of incompetence’ (Moore 2011). Fortunately, railings and ornamentation require regular maintenance.
when Stirling began building in Germany, the building Skylights inevitably will leak due to failure of neoprene
industry seemed better equipped to realise his ambitious gaskets that get brittle as they age and will require replace-
ideas. ment. Other details, such as openings created by ‘missing’
The composition of the Neue Staatsgalerie, while gen- stone veneer blocks are likely to be avenues for water and
erally viewed favorably, distorts the traditional under- ice problems as well as accumulation of detritus.
standing of the building as complete, singular idea. The undulating glass curtainwall of the Nueu
Buildings of this genre become a ‘bricolage’ of recognis- Staatsgalerie will have to be replaced when its gas-filled
able figures: a kind of pastiche or blank, empty parody thermal panes fail. Curtain walls are a form of exterior
(Jameson 1983; Maulden 1986). It is a series of contex- cladding that do not support floor or roof loads—they
tual integrations with the site as well as periods of art and ‘hang’ off of the building structure like a curtain. These
design. Traditional building materials, such as travertine glazed systems form an integral part of the building
and sandstone, are combined with colored industrial enclosure; and as such, they must be designed and con-
steel throughout the museum that meld its postmodern structed to achieve various structural and nonstructural
expression with historical references.10 performance requirements, such as the following:
The material palette of polychrome thin-cut stone
organised in horizontal striations, brightly painted steel 1. Water penetration resistance;
mullions, canopies and funnels, and undulating walls of 2. Air infiltration resistance;
tinted glass produces a layered pastiche superimposed 3. Structural adequacy (transfer all loads back to build-
over a structural steel armature concealed within. While ing structure);
stone has historically been a load bearing material and 4. Energy efficiency;
highly regarded by preservationists for its natural beauty 5. Aesthetics;
and durability, thin-cut stone is non-load bearing and is 6. Durability and maintainability.
applied over rigid insulation supported by steel or alu-
minum studs. Lightweight coping stone capping the Moisture problems are likely to occur when the flash-
tops of walls with caulk sealants invites long term mois- ing between the stone veneer and curtain wall do not
ture and maintenance problems. The primary concerns connect or seal (McCowan and Kivela 2010).
with the veneer system included flaking of the stone Masonry System 7 (Fig. 7) is a rainscreen system with
veneer (delamination from the stone surface) falling off a steel-framed wall structure and adhered stone or
the building onto the ground below, some areas of large masonry veneer suitable for many applications includ-
separations at mortar joints (reportedly increasing in size ing low- or mid-rise residential, and commercial build-
despite some efforts at previous repair), and progressive ings, as well as buildings such as the Neue Staatsgalerie.
movement and deflection of stone veneer above openings The water control layer is a continuous control layer that
(Ahuja, Verhulst, and Noble 2006). is designed and installed to act as the innermost bound-
Embedding the building in the sloping site increases ary against water intrusion and as an air barrier (National
the likelihood of moisture migration into the build- Masonry Systems Guide 2022). The adhered masonry
ing through retaining walls and controlling humidity veneer with grouted joints sheds most water it is exposed
within the galleries. Remediating moisture problems to; however, some moisture is expected to penetrate the
cladding and enter the rainscreen cavity. This moisture is
10
Charles Jencks classifies the Neue Staatsgalerie as a high-tech building
drained through the cavity by the continuous Z-girts that
although it was designed late in Stirling’s career. By this time, Stirling had support the cladding or through the drainable, semi-rigid
shifted from functionalism and the industrial character of the University of insulation. Masonry units are bonded to a crack isolation
Leicester Engineering Building of 1963 to a more ornamental pastiche of
industrial materials.
membrane over a cement backer board and non-metal
Fig. 7 Typical steel-framed rainscreen wall section with stone veneer cladding. Integrity of wall can be compromised by rain, snow and ice,
and wind causing failure of cladding and moisture barrier systems and introducing humid air into interior rooms. Moisture and humidity control are
critical for conservation of art objects. (Source: the authors)
or intermittent metal-based cladding support clips. The bowing of marble slabs, which is characterised by a per-
steel-framed backup wall will experience little volume manent large deflection accompanied strength decay of
change; however, some movement may occur where the slabs, causing them to fall from the façades (Loughran
studs interface with floor and roof lines. As a result, both 2006; Akesson, Schouenborg, and Grelk 2006; Sieges-
horizontal and vertical movement joints are needed to mund, Ruedrich, and Koch 2008).
accommodate differential movement between the struc- The Neue Staatsgalerie’s postmodern pedigree is evi-
ture, cladding support system, and veneer components to dent in the artful way that Stirling combined many styles
prevent damage to the veneer or other components. and elements from historical museums into a modern
Advantages of stone cladding include its natural beauty, piece of architecture that connects the public with its
extreme durability and long lifespan, extensive range of culture. In its fragmentation and apparent incomplete-
stone types, complements other materials such as con- ness, it can variously be perceived as a ruin or as a con-
crete and timber, offers a variety of finish options for. temporary addition to an historical building within a
Wide range of applications, provides a high level of ther- dense urban fabric. The fact that it is a contextualised
mal mass contributing to reduced heating and cooling meta-narrative set within the urban fabric of Stuttgart,
loads, and weather resistant especially when coated with the cultural history of modern Germany, and its draw as
moisture repellent sealers. Disadvantages include higher a tourist attraction make it a likely candidate for preser-
construction costs due to increased structural substrate, vation, but Stirling’s arrogance predicating design over
labor-intensive to install, expensive cladding mate- constructability and his checkered reputation for design-
rial, and can trap moisture behind the material if poorly ing buildings that don’t work bring even his most prestig-
installed (Eco Outdoor 2021). ious buildings into question.
Even though most of ventilated claddings façades per-
form reasonably, some anomalies have appeared over the 5.3 Hedmark Museum
last few decades, such as deterioration of appearance, Daniel Willis points out that in pre-modern societies the
fracture, arching and falling of stone slabs, therefore caus- goal was not geometric perfection, but to privilege mean-
ing durability and security problems (Sousa and Sousa ing over utility and sustainability over efficiency (Willis
2019; Loughran 2006). According to inspections per- 1999). Vernacular architecture, therefore, is inefficient
formed on several buildings with natural stone cladding because it combines pre-industrial production practices
façades, these problems seem more related to design and with the will to imbue its creations with an aura of signif-
execution errors and environmental actions (Neto and de icance. Critical Regionalism, which juxtaposes vernacular
Brito 2012). One of the most uncommon anomalies is the building forms and practices with modern technologies
Fig. 8 Hedmark Museum, Hamar, Norway, 1967–2005, Sverre Fehn architect. (Source: Columbia University Avery Library)
and materials, creates a new and provocative dialect that addition into the original building shell barely touch-
both affirms and critiques the historical interpretations ing the remains of its constructive legacy. The original
and meanings of architecture from within by re-contex- U-shaped building forms a central court shared with the
tualising them in through the auspices of modernism foundations of primitive farm buildings (Fig. 9). An eth-
(Tzonis and Lefaivre 1996; Frampton 1996). nographic museum occupies the original cowshed while
The Hedmark Museum in Hamar, Norway (1967– the west wing houses Nordic cultural artifacts. Adminis-
2005), also known as the Storhamar Barn, is one of Sverre trative services and an auditorium are also incorporated
Fehn’s best known works (Fig. 8). The main architec- within the existing ruins creating an interesting dialogue
tural objective was to create a museum from to preserve between the history of the site and its modern additions.
what remains of Hamar Bishopric and Storhamarlaven A succession of ramps, stairways, and hallways allow
and make it possible for the excavation of the site to be the visitor to contemplate both the remains of the origi-
an important feature. The answer for Fehn is the ‘sus- nal building and the installed artifacts. A long, curved
pended museum’ allowing he public to experience history ramp lifts the visitor through the courtyard and into the
brought alive through archeology (Norberg-Schulz 1979). building in a kind of journey into the past where artifacts
One of the elements that makes a place truly beautiful recovered from the site have been carefully restored and
is a careful balance of complexity and simplicity. Con- placed on a collection of stands and pedestals reminis-
temporary architecture frequently just goes for the sim- cent of the detailing of Italian architect Carlo Scarpa.
plicity and forgets the complexity, or it makes up for the Fehn’s objective was to preserve and protect the arche-
simplicity of its appearance with complexity in the tech- ological integrity of the ruined buildings with interven-
nical processes necessary to build it. But the old build- tions of new elements constructed of concrete, wood,
ings that please us most are frequently simple at the steel, and glass to convey an ‘intimate and poetic’ mes-
larger level and complex at the micro-level (Rennix and sage by means of a modern aesthetic (Fehn 1997). He
Robinson 2017). Created over a period spanning almost contrasts the visual weight and rough textures of the
40 years, the Hedmark Museum involves the recov- original load-bearing stone walls with milled timber-
ery of the ruins of an ancient fortified house built by a frame posts and trusses that support a new roof structure
local bishop of the 12th century. He deftly inserted the punctured with sky lights (Fig. 10). Delicate steel pin con-
timber-frame and glass components of the new museum nections supporting the massive timbers produce a visual
Fig. 9 Hedmark Museum, Hamar, Norway, 1967–2005. Above: Plan. Below: building section (Source: the authors)
tension between the weight of the wood and the relative a potent interplay between the artifacts of the site and its
lightness of the steel, which is also echoed in the detail- modern interventions.
ing of the stands and pedestals supporting artifacts. The Natural materials such as stone and wood age well and
interweaving of old and new elements reveals the char- develop patinas that enhance their inherent characteris-
acteristics of the rural culture of Norway, with special tics. Timber has been used in buildings for millennia and
emphasis on ethnography, religion, and history through is a good choice structurally for its strength, durability,
beautifully presented and illuminated objects (Fig. 9) fire resistance, and weathering characteristics. It is also a
(Barbam 2013). renewable resource, which makes it sustainable. Timber
Essentially, Hedmark is by-and-large an open-air frames can be the most suitable choice if the structural
museum, which means that the architect could focus shell is required quickly, if the ground conditions are par-
on circulation, functional layout of galleries, preserv- ticularly poor, or if the design does not include very large
ing and protecting the existing archeological structures structural spans (Designing Buildings 2021).
and the site, and designing the display of artifacts. Fehn Traditionally, timber frames were connected using
had to address neither indoor comfort of inhabitants nor mortises and tenons joined by wood pegs. Water is the
mechanical interior climate controls for the artifacts. enemy of all buildings and especially of wood struc-
Technical assessment of the museum, therefore, is based tures. Over time, they will rot if not properly maintained
on his primary responsibility: preserving and protecting and the wood pegs in timber frame buildings will ulti-
the archelogy of the site. mate deteriorate causing connections to fail. While this
Fehn’s material pallet is reduced to basic, durable mate- method is still used by craftsmen, many modern timber
rials: timber for structural framing; concrete for earth- frame buildings, such as the Hedmark Museum, are high-
bound walls and circulation ramp and elevated walkways; bred structures that use steel brackets, gusset plates, and
and, steel for brackets connecting timber components, bolts to join together wood components.
handrails, and pedestals and armatures for display of Historic timber framed buildings used the heartwood
artifacts. These materials both complement and contrast from a variety of species of trees ranging from pines and
with the existing stone archeological structures creating firs to hardwoods such as oak. However, faster growing
Fig. 10 Wall section detail of construction materials and connections of the Hedmark Museum (Source: the authors)
trees with less grain density are often harvested and used of the setting, and when looking at the building in
for timber construction today resulting in less structural the setting, a hope for a new consciousness to see the
integrity. Poor drying techniques can also lead to check- beauty there, as well’ (Michalarou 2021). His ‘construc-
ing, twisting, warping, and other undesirable character- tive thought’ reunites the world and spatialises time
istics. Another option, is to use laminated posts, beams, through construction in a ‘new synthesis endowed with
and trusses. These can be produced by sandwiching an innate sense of origins and timeless principles’ (Fjeld
together smaller pieces of wood together bonded with an 1983; Norberg-Schulz 1979; Fehn 1997). Cook (1981)
adhesive. Laminated timbers are structurally stable, re- describes Hamar as ‘a poised machine in its purest
use waste materials, and are aesthetically pleasing when form hanging above the archaeology’ and says that ‘we
they are combined with modern materials and fabrication are unused to a building that collages together devices,
methods. Of course, wood must always be protected and as in the tradition of the clockmaker, so that they seem
routinely maintained when exposed to natural elements. naturally interdependent.’
At Hamar, the wood structure supports a sheltering roof The Hedmark Museum, therefore, is both an inter-
that shields the structure, interior spaces and artifacts vention of new architectural elements and preservation
from the weather. In a sense, the Hedmark Museum is of the existing archeology of the original building rem-
both on archeological exhibit and an act of preservation nants. In essence, the new architecture preserves and
of both old and new elements. protects the old while forming an intricate dialogue
Fehn created architecture which had a firm foun- between past and present, artifact and nature. Unlike
dation in the Modern Movement, but was expressed the Wexner Centre and the Staatsgallerie, the Hedmark
in terms of the materials and language of their own Museum is not a formalistic response to interpreting a
region and time. ‘When I build on a site in nature that site, but rather a poetic and practical and unpretentious
is totally unspoiled,’ he wrote, ‘I strive to make a build- adaptation of traditional material and craft-based sensi-
ing that will make people more aware of the beauty bilities. This approach not only ensures the preservation
of the archeological site, but also the continued viability by Eisenman’s Wexner Centre albeit with an entirely
of the new building elements that are an authentic mani- different architectural syntax. He creates a fragmented
festation of craft and material cultural. With his poetic building that inverts the relationships of interior and
vision Fehn demonstrates that all architecture that exterior spaces translated sequentially along a con-
strives to express the authentic must include an ethos of tinuous path linking the users’ temporal experience of
place and time. passage through art and space to the urban context of
the city and German cultural history. Yet, Stirling also
6 Discussion allowed formal design objectives to supersede basic
Regionalism and the renewed interest in vernacular construction techniques.
architecture led to the demise of the artifices and styli- Conversely, in the museum at Hamar Fehn juxtaposed
sations of Postmodernism.11 The shifting grids, acute new architectural elements into the actual archeological
angles, complex layering of materials and elements and ruins of the Bishopric structures to investigate the poten-
the like that were seductive in models and drawings were tial of ‘an irrational idea supported by a rational structure’
not easy to achieve in the actual buildings. Like Eisen- in which every material has its own poetic language (Fehn
man, some architects preferred not to address these 1997). In this instance, the building program of preserving
technical problems by affiliating with architectural/ the archeology and artifacts of the site was ideal in provid-
engineering firms for technical expertise. His noncha- ing Fehn with a palette of natural and sustainable materials
lance toward the needs of his clients, constructability integrated with an open-air museum that did not require a
and building costs was reflected in his early houses. For sophisticated heating and air conditioning system. His rad-
example, House VI took three years to be completed ical approach to restoration is best exemplified in his state-
and cost twice as much as Eisenman had originally esti- ment, ‘only by manifesting the present, can you make the
mated. As owner Suzanne Frank wrote: ‘[Eisenman] was past speak.’ He ‘came of age in the shadow of Modernism;’
somewhat cynical about practical construction matters but having to work primarily with an interior, and being
in general,’ and ‘Working drawings were lacking in spe- able to consider the work a restoration project rather than
cific detail…From the beginning, we had problems with as a definitive building seemingly freed him from the for-
leakage, and...by 1987 the house was in a frightful state’ mal constraints and Modernist orthodoxies visible in his
(Mehjabeen, Mirzaiedamabi, and Tang 2019). earlier work (Tandberg 2021). The overall impression is a
Eschewing the abstraction of modernism and the building in an endless process of re-imagining, adaptation,
hubris of postmodernism, Fehn turned to regional and and renewal that transcends its own time through which
vernacular architecture as inspiration for an organic and ‘poetry and myth possess the ability of maintain contradic-
‘authentic’ response to building. Adaptive re-use and tory opposites in a single image’ (Willis 1999).
preservation of existing buildings gives designers consid- Figure 11 compares building systems and materials
erable latitude in juxtaposing the new with the old. Mod- used in the three museums. As this paper has shown,
ern materials and technologies can be integrated with the performance of buildings over their life-cycles
traditional craftsmanship, organic materials, and build- is related to the quality of materials used, construc-
ing methods to create a synthetic, poetic ‘meta-language’ tion methods and details to resist the adverse effects
that elicits new interpretations of form and meaning. This of climate and environment, and the relative sophis-
meta-language is neither a pastiche of signs and elements tication and complexity of technical equipment and
nor is it insular and self-reflective appreciated by an elite, services to maintain interior comfort and conserve
educated audience. Rather, it is rooted in an indigenous artifacts on display.
culture where the necessity of dwelling is expressed hon- Figure 12 illustrates how initial building construc-
estly through nature. tion and life-cycle maintenance costs increase over time
Stirling based the Neue Staatsgalerie on historical for each case study museum. As building materials and
museum models to organise its spaces and contextual- environmental systems age, it is likely that they will have
ise it with the city, as well as the tradition of museum to be replaced not once but several times to maintain
design. Its evocation as a ‘ruin’ within the city of Stutt- the functionality of the building. For buildings such as
gart suggests a similar level of incompleteness achieved the Wexner Centre that has already incurred significant
upgrade costs, replacement of the building may be the
more cost-effective solution than renovation. By contrast,
11
By the early 1990s and the influence of Deconstructivism, architects the Hedmark Museum demands far less to maintain
objectified architecture to critique it from within its discipline. While sev-
eral Deconstructivist buildings were built and gained international atten- and operate because it does not require complex envi-
tion, notably Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin, many were ronmental systems and uses a limited palette of proven
plagued by the same technical and financial problems that had plagued the organic materials that perform well over time.
Wexner Center for the Arts.
Fig. 11 compares each case study building in terms of materials, structure, mechanical systems, site integration, sustainability and potential
for preservation (Source: the authors)
Fig. 12 Case study buildings comparisons of lifetime operational and maintenance costs. Note relative difference of simple building construction
materials and methods and increased costs incurred with greater complexity. (Source: the authors)
7 Conclusion approach their problems, how they approached

When Postmodernism was in its heyday, Paul Rudolph them in the past, and how they still approach them.
recommended that architects return to the essential Of course, I mean vernacular architecture. I think
problems of design and building. that quite often people naturally do things when left
to their devices, do things very well, and solve an
I would suggest that you pay close attention to
awful lot of problems that architects tend to forget
what we regard as untutored people and how they
(Warfield 1985).
The shift toward performance as a criterion for build- Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.
ing design and sustainability was initiated from a tech-
nological platform by high-tech architects who were
trying to reconcile the formalism of Modernism with Declarations
the exigencies of climate and function. However, tech- Competing interests
nology as a solution introduces attendant unforeseen The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
problems. Sophisticated HVAC systems, active curtain Author details
walls, and electric lighting, regardless of their efficien- 1
Illinois School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 117
cies, require copious amounts of energy to operate. Buell Hall, 611 Taft Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
The larger and more technical a building becomes the Received: 4 October 2021 Accepted: 1 March 2022
more difficult and expensive it is to maintain and oper-
ate. Architects, who wish to achieve more sustainable
buildings, are well-advised to look at historical and ver-
nacular buildings for inspiration and planning before References
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