Last night I went to see a performance at the new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. While the actors' performance was excellent, the building's was no less so. Jean Nouvel's remarkable building, perched high on the west bank of the Mississippi River, is exquisitely designed within and effectively positioned without. Cheek-by-jowl to a group of extraordinary old mill buildings that have recently been reclaimed as museums and condominiums, the blue building embraces its street context while dramatically engaging the river. A cantilevered platform extends out toward the water, providing a brilliant postcard view of the river, the Stone Arch Bridge that crosses it, and the other side. While the platform is largely an interior space, the very end of it is outside. The space is accessible to non-theatre patrons during the day. Apparently office workers trek there to eat their lunches.
The exterior, which I feared would look like an airport terminal when I saw it under construction a year ago, is a deep blue. During the day, it shimmers with giant images of past performances; at night, it hovers dramatically, dematerializing into the night, visible only as a collection of windows and spotlights.
The interior is no less dramatic. Mimicking the outside, the walls are adorned with very subtle images from past productions that resolve themselves only when viewed from certain angles. To reach the three stages from the lobby, one takes a very narrow three storey escalator that takes one up to the theatres. I wish I had had my camera.
Not only is Minneapolis worth visiting for its extraordinary theatre scene -- second only to New York in the US -- but now also for the building that houses its preeminent stage.
(I should conclude by noting that this is not the only architectural improvement in Minneapolis. I hope to post further about Cesar Pelli's new Public Library and Herzog & de Meuron's new pavillion at the Walker Art Center.) I regret that due to rainy weather, I did not get to see these other buildings from the inside -- perhaps next visit...
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Posted by: Catherin21 | February 18, 2010 at 06:16 PM