Glass Pavilion, Toledo Museum of Art / 2006

ArchitectSANAA - Sejima + Nishizawa and Associates

Executive ArchitectKendall Heaton Associates

Structural EngineerSasaki Associates, Inc. / Guy Nordenson and Associates

Services EngineerCosentini Associates / Transolar

ContractorRudolph Libbe Inc.

Façade ContractorToledo Mirror & Glass Company / UAD Group

The Toledo Museum of Art’s collection includes works from all over the world, diverse in medium and craft, and spanning from the ancient to the contemporary. One of the museum’s specializations is the history of art using glass, and much of this collection is displayed in the new Glass Pavilion, designed by SANAA. This 74,000 ft2 (6,875 m2) pavilion addition displays a strong poetic intent to create a series of abstract volumes of programmed space, in which all interstitial zones are rendered visible through curved glass.  Very thin columns are interspersed throughout these zones to resist vertical loads, while many of the curved steel walls are specifically designed to resist the building’s lateral loads. The primary building structural design was completed by Guy Nordenson and Associates with Sasaki and Partners. Front worked (from schematic design through construction administration) on the design for all interior and exterior curved laminated annealed glass walls, which were rationalized into only 6 different radiuses to streamline fabrication and reduce cost. Additionally, Front’s scope of work also included a 2-ft-deep (0.6 m) anodized aluminum fascia, detailed to be nearly flush with the exterior glass of the building, and a large double laminated, insulated, double curved, slumped glass skylight for the courtyard over the conservation room.