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Article from issue 3/1998 »Glass Construction«

Museum of Art in Basle

documentation p. 381 - 386
Architect Piano, Renzo | Renzo Piano Building Workshop | Structural Engineer Ove Arup + Partners |

The spatial concept of the museum is determined by four 130-metre-long parallel walls. The outer two walls are in concrete. The inner walls consist of plasterboard partitions between reinforced concrete columns. Full-height glazing along the north and south faces of the building opens it to the outside. The glazing is in a post-and-beam form of construction with the steel-flat posts set on the outside. The glass roofing comprises a number of layers. A grid of steel beams supports three flat-pitched glass saddleback roofs with sheet steel gutters between them. The roof glazing bars consist of aluminium sections fixed to point bearers that are adjustable in height. Above this covering is a construction of sloping glass elements that provides external solar screening and also forms a distinguishing feature of the museum. The panes of glass, white enamelled on the rear face, restrict the ingress of direct sunlight, but allow diffused north light to enter the exhibition spaces. The soffit suspended internally from the grid of beams forms a third layer of glazing. The 1.40-metre-deep intermediate space functions as a buffer zone that helps to balance out fluctuations of temperature. It also houses technical installations such as lighting and a system of sensor-operated daylight-deflecting louvres.
Beneath this suspended glazing is a semi-transparent layer, consisting of perforated metal sheets covered with white cloth. It acts as an additional means of filtering light.