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New Grand Rapids Art Museum


GRDadof3

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This side truly looks like a giant exhaust vent. Yuck.

Behind the GRAM there is a small ray-shielded thermal exhaust port that leads directly from the surface of the museum into the heart of its colossal reactor. If the port could be breached by proton torpedoes, then the resulting chain reaction would destroy the entire museum...

Sorry, couldn't help myself :whistling:

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Behind the GRAM there is a small ray-shielded thermal exhaust port that leads directly from the surface of the museum into the heart of its colossal reactor. If the port could be breached by proton torpedoes, then the resulting chain reaction would destroy the entire museum...

Sorry, couldn't help myself :whistling:

:rofl:

Oh that's awesome... I'm going to start calling this thing the Death Stump....

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Well thank goodness that they were able to make the big window on ottawa look like a gigantic exhaust vent. Because this side of the building was shaping up to be not totally brutal:

591439416_ea1666ca77.jpg

Nice pics Sparky! I agree that this might not have been the best design, but I would rather have windows with louvers than just a blank concrete wall on the back side of the GRAM.

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I walked past the GRAM last night and thought the same thing about the vent look. If I did not know that this side was windows, I would have thought it was an exhaust vent. I keep telling myself I'll withold judgement on this building until it's done, but this....! :scared:

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Well thank goodness that they were able to make the big window on ottawa look like a gigantic exhaust vent. Because this side of the building was shaping up to be not totally brutal:

591439416_ea1666ca77.jpg

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the louvre look on the Ottawa side. I'm guessing it's because that side faces Southeast and gets a half a day of sun streaming through those windows (which doesn't help the LEED Certification we're are all so fond of).

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I like the louvre look but this one is a bit of a head scratcher. You might be right GRDad about the need to block sun for LEED certification. Luckily, there looks to be three planters that will help block it. Better bring in the mature trees, stat! :)

Joe

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the louvre look on the Ottawa side. I'm guessing it's because that side faces Southeast and gets a half a day of sun streaming through those windows (which doesn't help the LEED Certification we're are all so fond of).
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I drove by last night and they are adding louvers to the front of the museum too.

Right here in the courtyard area? These were on a few days ago.

534992227_d65097ae47.jpg

Or are they adding louvers on this section? That wouldn't surprise me because I think it shows that on the rendering (and the window layout with the red metal crossbars look similar to the other sides where louvers were added).

534992239_6964e2f0c2_b.jpg

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Or are they adding louvers on this section? That wouldn't surprise me because I think it shows that on the rendering (and the window layout with the red metal crossbars look similar to the other sides where louvers were added).

534992239_6964e2f0c2_b.jpg

There are quite louvers installed covering those windows already. Quite a few more are waiting in crates.

It's too bad. golscorer's great photos were just starting to convince me everything was going to be alright, from the outside at least.

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There are quite louvers installed covering those windows already. Quite a few more are waiting in crates.

It's too bad. golscorer's great photos were just starting to convince me everything was going to be alright, from the outside at least.

I was in DT today and saw the museum. The louvers cover everything expect the first bottom row of glazing.

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I was in DT today and saw the museum. The louvers cover everything expect the first bottom row of glazing.

You're kidding me. So now the best side of the museum with the most transparency and the least concrete brutality has been transformed into a simulated exhaust vent too? :angry:

Wonderful.

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I was in DT today and saw the museum. The louvers cover everything expect the first bottom row of glazing.

I'm having a hard time getting an answer to this question. On which side? On the Monroe Center side? On the RPC side?

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The windows in question are on the RPC side of the building under the main entrance canopy. Facing the main entrance they would be on the left hand side.

I'm having a hard time getting an answer to this question. On which side? On the Monroe Center side? On the RPC side?
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The windows in question are on the RPC side of the building under the main entrance canopy. Facing the main entrance they would be on the left hand side.

:turns around, studies building:

They look more like Venetian blinds from this angle/lighting.

Jeff, stand out front of Friends. You'll see 'em.

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Here's your butt-ugly exhaust-vent covered mausoleum for art.

633099766_7ca0cf6a99_b.jpg

632234671_6d5a864401_b.jpg

Sorry to be so blunt, but the finishing touches on this building seem to be designed to make it less impressive, graceful or beautiful, and more brutal and blank=walled industrial looking. me no like. :sick:

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Here's your butt-ugly exhaust-vent covered mausoleum for art.

633099766_7ca0cf6a99_b.jpg

632234671_6d5a864401_b.jpg

Sorry to be so blunt, but the finishing touches on this building seem to be designed to make it less impressive, graceful or beautiful, and more brutal and blank=walled industrial looking. me no like. :sick:

In the past I've been harsh about the museum and decided to take a step back some time ago to let it pan out and then rejudge. I was starting to find the museum more palatable due ot the heavy inclusion of glass and window. (still don't like conrete as a design feature) Now that they are "effectively" covering the windows my sentiments of disgust are quickly returning. Hoorumph

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In the past I've been harsh about the museum and decided to take a step back some time ago to let it pan out and then rejudge. I was starting to find the museum more palatable due ot the heavy inclusion of glass and window. (still don't like conrete as a design feature) Now that they are "effectively" covering the windows my sentiments of disgust are quickly returning. Hoorumph

why are they covering the windows!!!! its like this thing is going through urban renewal and it hasnt even opened yet

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The louvers sound incredibly necessary to me. Natural light is no good at all for art work, especially direct light. I'm sure that the glass has some built in filters, but using a system like this allows natural light to diffuse into the space, providing natural light into the interior, without direct, harsh sunlight damaging the art work. Also, if you'll notice, the louvers are stopped at the lower panels, so that the street side glass is still clear.

If I remember right, we talked about louvers like 6-7 months ago.... wasn't a concern then to people

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The louvers sound incredibly necessary to me. Natural light is no good at all for art work, especially direct light. I'm sure that the glass has some built in filters, but using a system like this allows natural light to diffuse into the space, providing natural light into the interior, without direct, harsh sunlight damaging the art work. Also, if you'll notice, the louvers are stopped at the lower panels, so that the street side glass is still clear.

If I remember right, we talked about louvers like 6-7 months ago.... wasn't a concern then to people

some sort of light deflection system is necessary to be sure. And we may have talked louvers, yes. But when the light deflecting louvers turn out to be atrocities against some of the only visually appealing parts of this big pile of concrete, opinions can change. I've soured on this building in a big time way over the last few weeks. It's still possible that the inside will turn out to be really cool, but the outside is a brutal, steaming heap, IMO.

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I gotta say, this building is shaping up to be ugly.

I drove some visiting New Yorkers by the museum this weekend. They weren't impressed but didn't hate it.

Me? I find it ugly. Can't help it but louvers ruin (for me) the one great feature: gobs of glass.

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