'Honeycomb' Wrapper Keeps Broad Museum Team on Its Toes
The architecture of the art museum is a counterpoint to the shiny metallic Walt Disney Concert Hall, across the street.
Photo by Greg Aragon
The exterior comprises 2,500 fiberglass-reinforced-concrete panels, with more than 400 unique shapes on a steel backing. A large oculus is inset on one side.
Image courtesy of Broad Museum
The exterior veil is attached to a frame made of 650 tons of steel, which is supported in three key points, including a 57-ft-long beam on the Grand Avenue side that can support up to 3,000 lb.
Photo by Greg Aragon
The concrete vault cantilevers up to 45 ft.
photo courtesy of Broad Museum
The Broad's veil allows indirect natural light to penetrate the interior.
Photo courtesy of Cupertino Electric
Workers hand-bent studs using templates from the 3D model for the curved lobby walls and ceiling.
Photo courtesy of Broad Museum
"This was a painstaking process," Healy says.
Available laydown space was at a premium thanks to the 200-ft by 300-ft site, adds Healy. "We are literally surrounded by public sidewalks on all four sides of the project, so our staging area is pretty limited."
To get a little extra staging room, the team is using a section of open ground atop one end of the underground parking garage, which extends past the building dimensions on the back side.
The project, which broke ground in May 2012, is scheduled for completion in late 2014. When it opens, the museum will house more than 2,000 pieces of art from both The Broad Foundation and the Broad family's collection for a total of 50,000 sq ft of exhibit space.
