Museums preserve the stories of ancient eras, breathe fresh life into history and bring the world’s most precious art and artifacts to the public, so it’s no question that their extraordinary collections deserve equally extraordinary homes. From the gorgeous 12th-century French royal fortress that would eventually become the Louvre to Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic spiraling Guggenheim, museums have long enchanted us with their fabulous forms. And modern museums and galleries are right on the heels of their predecessors, set to attain the same legendary status. Here, our selection of structures that break the rules, awe and inspire and effortlessly blend old and new.
Musée des Graffitis, Niaux, France
(Above) Without a striking building to commemorate it, visitors would never know this cave was anything more than a hole in the mountain. In fact, the Musée des Graffitis houses cave paintings dating back to 11,000 B.C. This majestic steel structure was designed by architect Massimiliano Fuksas to resemble a prehistoric animal emerging from the cave with the goal of luring visitors into the art-filled grotto.
For more information, visit Fuksas.it
Danfoss Universe, Nordborg, Denmark
Part of Denmark’s interactive science park Danfoss Universe, Cumulus is an exhibition space for new digital technologies and multimedia projects. The 10,000-square-foot modern building was designed by J. Mayer H. Architects to look like a massive cloud.
For more information, visit DanfossUniverse.com.
Tate Modern 2, London, England
Legendary Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron has designed a new addition to the equally renowned Tate Modern that is scheduled to open in tandem with the 2012 Olympic Games. The glorious new building will form a graphic new vertical addition to the flatter existing structure; it also includes a set of horizontal terraces to break up the façade of intricate, latticelike brickwork. We can’t wait.
For more information, visit Tate.org.uk.
Underwater Museum, Egypt
Rather than bring fragile sunken artifacts up to the museumgoer, architect Jacques Rougerie plans to bring the visitor down to them. Set in the Bay of Alexandria, this cutting-edge structure will consist of four columns shaped like sails and a series of fiberglass tunnels that will take visitors below the water to see shipwrecks and other ruins believed to be from the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The first underwater museum is projected to open in 2013 but faces technical and feasibility issues. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed until then.
For more information, visit UNESCO.org.
To see more of the most fabulous museums across the world, check out the rest of our photo gallery!
