Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion
Toledo, Ohio
Depending on the weather and time of day or night, the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art shifts and changes color like a prism. The Glass Pavilion was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese firm SANAA, a Tokyo-based company known for using architectural glass with extraordinary skill. Construction took two years and cost $30 million.
The pavilion’s glass walls were created from more than 360 panels — many of them curved. Each measures approximately eight feet wide 13.5 feet high and weighs 1,300-1,500 pounds. The steel roof contains such an astonishing array of electrical, structural, and mechanical devices that those involved in its design and construction liken it to a Swiss watch.
“The idea was transparency from the front to the back and certainly in the galleries,” said Kelly Garrow, director of communications. “People are used to having solid walls to guide them, and glass walls give a very different experience.”
Glass baron Edward Drummond Libby moved his glass company from Massachusetts to Toledo due to favorable transportation and labor costs. He founded the Toledo Museum and began collecting glass in the early 1900s. The museum’s world-class encyclopedic glass collection is specifically known for its ancient glass.
Tour options include a docent-led architectural tour or a self-guided tour through the pavilion that highlights the collection’s major works. A Hot Shop occupies half of the pavilion space. Visitors can see daily glassblowing demonstrations, take classes and watch artists who have rented studio space.
Guthrie Theater
Minneapolis
The Guthrie Theater’s architectural highlights complement its year-round regional, national and international productions. The royal-blue exterior and amber glass windows scattered throughout the top floors draw attention to the building. Digitized production photos etched into the exterior steel and on the interior pay homage to past productions and bring the theater’s history to life, much like the ghosts of theater past.
“All of the windows frame picture-postcard vignettes of the surrounding neighborhoods and different local scenes,” said Lana Aylesworth, group sales manager and tour coordinator. “The views are well choreographed throughout the building.”
French architect Jean Nouvel won the 2008 Pritzker Prize two years after he designed the Guthrie. It was his first North American building. Nouvel wanted to create a connection between the building and the surrounding neighborhood. That sense of community extends to the audiences and the performances themselves.
Architectural tours include the public lobby spaces and the theater’s three stages. One of the building’s signature features is the cantilevered lobby, known as the Endless Bridge. It affords views of the Mississippi River falls and landscape. Stretching more than half a block from the building face, the 30-foot-wide Endless Bridge is an engineering feat. The Dowling Studio Lobby incorporates an amber glass cantilevered lobby with a bird’s-eye view of the Mississippi River, the Minneapolis skyline and adjacent landmarks.
Backstage tours focus on the scene shops, the costume department, the prop shop and the two main theaters. They offer a glimpse of a production from rehearsals through opening night.
