Displaying items by tag: courtyard

Two decades after stealing antiquities from a first-century Jewish city in the Golan Heights, on the borders of Israel and Syria, a robber returned the loot to a museum's courtyard, Israeli authorities announced.

The returned artifacts included two 2,000-year-old sling stones, also called ballista balls, which would've been used as weapons, and an anonymous typed noted saying, "These are two Roman ballista balls from Gamla, from a residential quarter at the foot of the summit.

The Bass Museum of Art on Miami Beach will close Sunday until fall 2016 to increase programming space by 47.5% on its existing footprint with a $7.5 million city grant.

The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board voted 6-0 Tuesday to approve the partial demolition, renovation and expansion of the two-story structure at 2100 Collins Ave.

A new pedestrian bridge by architect Michael Maltzan that crosses the courtyard of the Hammer Museum will open early next year, officials said Wednesday, and will connect the most trafficked galleries to those that new visitors are most likely to miss.

The 33.5-foot bridge will probably open for use at the beginning of February, the Westwood museum said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 24.

"We have long wanted a bridge built to improve the flow of our space and connect the permanent and temporary galleries," Hammer Director Ann Philbin said. She added that the bridge will help new visitors find their way to the permanent collection gallery.

On July 11 the British Museum unveiled its World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre (WCEC), one of the largest developments in its 260-year history. The center is a significant addition to the Museum’s estate of notable architecture.

Designed by lead architect Graham Stirk of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP), Stirk described its style as an “architectural vocabulary quite new to us . . . emotional modernity.” The Centre comprises five pavilions with a public temporary exhibitions gallery accessed through the main east entrance. The Centre as a whole, however, is a non-public “support” building. Three of the Centre’s five pavilions plug into a three-sided courtyard behind the Museum’s King Edward VII building; a fourth aligns with the King Edward street frontage; and the fifth is 68 percent below ground with a light-filled atrium. The pavilions will house world class conservation studios, science laboratories, storage, and a collections hub for loans. Stirk and RSHP architect John McElgunn led a tour for the press.

Richard Koshalek, the director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., announced his resignation on May 23, 2013 after three years with the institution. Koshalek’s decision was prompted by the Hirshhorn’s board of trustees’ failure to reach a consensus in regards to a plan to cover the museum’s courtyard with a temporary inflatable bubble, which has been continually stalled.

Koshalek made the announcement during a board meeting, which was centered on the bubble project. During the meeting, the 15 board members were unable to agree whether or not to continue fundraising for the project. Officials said that the bubble will remain under consideration even after Koshalek’s departure.

If created, the bubble would connect the inside and outside of the Hirshhorn and create additional space for installations and performances. Designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro, the bubble is expected to cost over $12.5 million to create and install. Fundraising efforts have brought in about $7.8 million to date.