Best Museum
Floto + Warner
Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, sanaa
Is there such a thing as spectacular minimalism? SANAA architects Sejima and Nishizawa's design for the Glass Pavilion comes close to this apparently contradictory ideal. The structure is stunningly transparent, all loping curves and tricky, low-slung spaces; virtually every interior and exterior wall is made entirely of glass, reflecting the building's purpose, which is to house the museum's nationally significant art-glass collection—and put Toledo on the design map.
"This new building alone is a reason to go to Toledo, a place you might not otherwise visit." —Kate Spade
Honorable Mentions
Bronx Museum of the Arts, North Building, by Arquitectonica; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, by Jean Nouvel
Address Book
Bronx Museum of the Arts North Building
1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, N.Y.; 718/681-6000; www.bronxmuseum.org.
Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave., Boston; 617/478-3100; www.icaboston.org.
Musée du Quai Branly
37 Quai Branly, Paris; 33-1/56-61-70-00; www.quaibranly.fr.
Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion
2445 Monroe St., Toledo, Ohio; 419/255-8000; www.toledomuseum.org.
