First opened in 2006, the Glass Pavilion at Toledo's Museum of Art now holds over 5,000 glass pieces ranging from antiquity to contemporary and post modern. Both and building's interior and exterior are composed largely of curved glass with clean lines and cool, inviting colors.Tokyo based architecture firm, SANAA Ltd, enjoyed playing with and blurring the lines between the interior functional space of the Glass Pavilion and the wooded natural lot surrounding it's exterior. The Glass Pavilion won Travel+Leisure's 2007 Design Award for "Best Museum."
Art in the Making
In addition to the experience of viewing the finished products in the gallery, glass blowing demonstrations are available to watch, and the museum's website notes that the juxtaposition of the gallery space and the glassmaking studio offer visitors the unique opportunity to witness the various ways glass is used as an artistic medium. These demonstrations are offered weekly in the studios where students and artists alike create works before your very eyes. Visitors are seated and the processes and techniques are narrated. Click here for a calendar of dates and events.
Inside the Pavilion
The Glass Pavilion was built on the other side of Monroe St., across from the museum's main entrance. By doing so, the museum campus was expanded and it makes the Glass Pavilion either the first or last stop on the trip to the museum. The trip across the street is only the prelude to the wonder that will be happened upon once entrance to the Pavilion occurs.
Immediately inside the doors, visitors can stop at the coffee bar for some refreshment before visiting the five different galleries, as well as the three small courtyards located inside the pavilion. The courtyards are just another example of how the architects played with the theme of mixing interior and exterior spaces. Opposite the galleries are the "hot shops" and the glass making studios where the demonstrations are held.
Other Uses
If a simple visit is not grandiose enough, the Pavilion can be rented out to parties for special occasions, be it a meeting and presentation, a wedding reception, a graduation party, etc. Other areas of the museum are available as well. Of course, some sprawling in the grass on campus with some music or a good read is okay, too.
In addition to the rest of the museum, admission to the Glass Pavilion is free and it is open during the museum's regular business hours. Directions are located here.
References:
