A CULTURAL OASIS: THE BUFFALO AKG ART MUSEUM

Nestled in the heart of Buffalo, a city known for its history of industrial revolution and the current revitalization of remnants from that past, the AKG (Albright-Knox-Gundlach) Art Museum stands as a testament to artistic innovation and architectural excellence.

Recently renovated by the prestigious architecture firm OMA, the museum is renowned for its extensive collection of modern and contemporary art, offering visitors a captivating journey through the evolution of visual culture.

Designed by partner Shohei Shigematsu of OMA’s New York office in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, the project features new additions, renovations, and modernizations that granted the museum to take a leap into the contemporary, renewing the idea of the museum as an introverted and autonomous place in relation to its surroundings.

The design concept for the AKG Art Museum draws inspiration from the surrounding urban landscape while reinterpreting traditional museum architecture. OMA's approach emphasizes transparency, flexibility, and connectivity, inviting visitors to engage with art in new and exciting ways. The museum's sleek, contemporary facade serves as a striking focal point, beckoning guests to explore the treasures within.

Inside, OMA's design principles are evident in the museum's layout and spatial organization. Open, fluid spaces encourage fluid circulation and interaction, while strategically placed galleries provide intimate settings for contemplation and reflection. Natural light floods the interior, creating dynamic interplays of shadow and illumination that enhance the viewing experience.

The museum's physical space serves as a canvas for artistic expression, complementing and enhancing the artworks on display. Conversely, the art within the museum informs and inspires the architectural design, influencing spatial configurations and sensory experiences.

The museum itself has two connected historic buildings: a 1905 solid, neo-classical building by Edward B. Green originally planned for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition and a 1962 modernist extension by Gordon Bunshaft that included an auditorium box and an outdoor courtyard. Despite being in the park, the two buildings side-by-side severed views and access to it from the city, and even from inside the museum itself. OMA’s ambition for the extension was not only to expand the complex to accommodate the museum’s growing art collection and diversifying programs, but also to reconnect it to the park and city and establish a new openness to public activities. The 1905 and 1962 buildings command a clear separation, closed off from their surroundings.

OMA’s intervention started observing how museums was evolving and trying to provide diverse avenues of public engagement through expanded gallery activities and non-exhibition programs. The feeling was that that museums needed to find a balance between programmed and programmable space and looking for a new relationships between them. OMA’s realized the second-level gallery with a promenade, an unprogrammed space for various activities — from sculpture exhibitions and galas to educational programs and wellness classes. The promenade and stack of efficient galleries have been enveloped by a transparent facade that achieves an open and ephemeral quality. This “veil” covers the promenade to form a double-height buffer zone between nature and art. The resulting winter garden simultaneously embeds visitors in the park and exposes the museum’s activities to the campus and city. It is an inverse of the Bunshaft: while he captured nature at the center of art, OMA placed art at the core surrounded by nature.

In addition to the new Gundlach Building, the existing campus as a whole is preserved and improved. The new, scenic John J. Albright Bridge connecting the Gundlach Building to the 1905 building, now known as the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers Building, weaves through, and immerses visitors in, the historic park landscape. The 1962 building, now known as the Seymour H. Knox Building, becomes a new community engagement, learning and creativity center; greatly enhanced by and monumental artwork Common Sky by Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann of Studio Other Spaces, which now encloses the original open-air and largely inaccessible interior courtyard to create the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation Town Square. Most importantly, a new point of entry on the east facade of the Knox Building establishes a through-connection from the city to the park.

While the existing buildings were hermetic historically, the new Gundlach Building opens itself up to its surroundings—a transparent entity that contributes a new profile and language to the lineage of architectural history of the institution. Together, the new complex offers an array of programs and spatial experiences—from classic to modern to contemporary, gallery to classroom, intimate rooms to grand halls, lawn to courtyard to winter garden. The result is a true campus-like museum that integrates art, architecture, and nature.

By seamlessly integrating art and architecture, the AKG Art Museum offers visitors a holistic and immersive cultural experience. Each element, from the placement of artworks to the design of the building itself, contributes to a cohesive narrative that celebrates creativity and innovation. Whether marvelling at a masterpiece or admiring the architectural details, guests are invited to participate in a dialogue between past and present, tradition and innovation