Buffalo AKG Art Museum opens this month (June 2023), inviting the public into its brand-new, OMA-designed home in New York state. When we first visited the project, a little over six months ago, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the Albright-Knox Art Gallery) was still deep in construction. Now, it is reborn with a striking OMA-crafted extension (led by partner in charge Shohei Shigematsu, and working with executive architects Cooper Robertson), site-specific installations, and a new focus on the local community.
Buffalo AKG Art Museum opens to the public
'We often say that there are only two types of museums: a museum in the park, embedded in the tranquility of nature, and a museum in the city, implanted within the energy of urbanism. The Buffalo AKG Art Museum is both. It sits at the northern edge of the historic Delaware Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The city is known for its history of industrial revolution and the current revitalisation of remnants from that past. It has a rich architectural history – from silos and manufacturing facilities to buildings by Eero Saarinen, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright,' the OMA team write in a statement.
This cultural institution is celebrating an inspiring legacy – it is the sixth-oldest museum in the United States. Having undergone various iterations and additions in its long life (its first version was established in 1862), and under the guidance of current director Janne Sirén, it launched a new scheme for a refresh and extension by OMA. Now, it spans decades and styles, from the original 1905 building to a new three-storey, geometric structure. There's a sculpture terrace and a connecting bridge as well as a 1962 building whose courtyard becomes a key public heart for the complex – and where Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann of Studio Other Spaces have designed a site-specific artwork to cover it.
Shigematsu said during our site visit last tyear: ‘Our focus was to present those efforts as a sign of openness, by having a space where people can improvise, and activities visible from outside – not about a closed authoritarian façade.' To that end, its ethereal volumes and glass transparency were very important: 'If you occupied the ground level with the galleries, then it would become another fortress,’ he added.
Buffalo AKG Art Museum opens to the public this weekend (15-18 June 2023).
-
Put these emerging artists on your radarThis crop of six new talents is poised to shake up the art world. Get to know them now
-
Dining at Pyrá feels like a Mediterranean kiss on both cheeksDesigned by House of Dré, this Lonsdale Road addition dishes up an enticing fusion of Greek and Spanish cooking
-
Creased, crumpled: S/S 2025 menswear is about clothes that have ‘lived a life’The S/S 2025 menswear collections see designers embrace the creased and the crumpled, conjuring a mood of laidback languor that ran through the season – captured here by photographer Steve Harnacke and stylist Nicola Neri for Wallpaper*
-
We explore Franklin Israel’s lesser-known, progressive, deconstructivist architectureFranklin Israel, a progressive Californian architect whose life was cut short in 1996 at the age of 50, is celebrated in a new book that examines his work and legacy
-
A new hilltop California home is rooted in the landscape and celebrates views of natureWOJR's California home House of Horns is a meticulously planned modern villa that seeps into its surrounding landscape through a series of sculptural courtyards
-
The Frick Collection's expansion by Selldorf Architects is both surgical and delicateThe New York cultural institution gets a $220 million glow-up
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacyDavid M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
-
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizonA peek at Zaha Hadid Architects’ future projects, which will comprise some of the most innovative and intriguing structures in the world
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s last house has finally been built – and you can stay thereFrank Lloyd Wright’s final residential commission, RiverRock, has come to life. But, constructed 66 years after his death, can it be considered a true ‘Wright’?
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
-
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildingsThe JJ Walser House has sat derelict for six years. But preservationists hope the building will have a vibrant second act
