Kolkata Museum of Modern Art

with Herzog and de Meuron, (2008-2009). 

A landmark museum of modern arts, the KMOMA, expands the traditional idea of a high art museum by hosting various programs for local craftsmen and artisans.  From narrow souk like entrances one emerges into a large central plaza, that leads to the museum’s central atrium space.  

The museum is conceived as a series of stacked boxes that create visual homogeneity at a distance but pixelate into rich and vibrant colors as one approaches and finally inhabits the spaces.  The project raises questions regarding the function of ornament in contemporary culture. 

Design research negotiated the desired affect with engineering and construction logics.  This moved the materiality of the project from glazed brick to colored concrete masonry units (CMU) - reconsidering the place of a material known for its cheapness and ubiquity.