The Neue Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany, was designed by the British firm James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates, although largely accredited solely to partner James Stirling. It was constructed between 1979 and 1984. The building has been claimed as the epitome of Post-modernism.
The new gallery occupies a site next to the old Staatsgalerie. A car park is located below the building. The building incorporates warm, natural elements of travertine and sandstone in classical forms, to contrast with the industrial pieces of green steel framing system and the bright pink and blue steel handrails. The architect intended to unite the monumental with the informal. [1]
The building's most prominent feature is a central open-top rotunda. This outdoor, enclosed space houses the sculpture garden. It is circumnavigated by a public footpath and ramp that leads pedestrians through the site. This feature allows the public to reach the higher elevation behind the museum from the lower front of the building's main face. [1]
The Neue Staatsgalerie was designed after Stirling and Wilford won a limited entry competition in 1977. It was constructed between 1979 and 1984. [1] Located next-door to Stuttgart's Alte Staatsgalerie, the design echoed the neoclassical design of the older building. Elements also alluded to Stirling's earlier, unbuilt designs, as well as making reference to the Altes Museum in Berlin, the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Pantheon in Rome. [1]
By uniting Modernist elements with overt Classicism, architectural critic Charles Jencks claims the gallery "epitomized the first stage of Post-Modernism in much the way the Villa Savoye and Barcelona Pavilion summarized early Modernism". [2]
The Museum Island is a museum complex on the northern part of the Spree Island in the historic heart of Berlin. It is one of the most visited sights of Germany's capital and one of the most important museum sites in Europe. Built from 1830 to 1930 by order of the Prussian Kings according to plans by five architects, the Museum Island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. It consists of the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum and the Pergamonmuseum. As Museum Island includes all of Spree Island north of the Unter den Linden, the Berliner Dom is also located here, near the Lustgarten. To the south, the reconstructed Berlin Palace houses the Humboldt Forum museum and opened in 2020. Since the German reunification, the Museum Island has been rebuilt and extended according to a master plan. In 2019, a new visitor center and art gallery, the James Simon Gallery, was opened.
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Sir James Frazer Stirling was a British architect.
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The Staatsgalerie Stuttgart is an art museum in Stuttgart, Germany, it opened in 1843. In 1984, the opening of the Neue Staatsgalerie designed by James Stirling transformed the once provincial gallery into one of Europe's leading museums.
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