New Kresge Court at the DIA

[KarmicCurse]

A bit off topic, but as nice as most of the renovations to the DIA have been this past decade, I can't forgive their awful decision to move the main entrance from the grand Woodward facade to the lowly Farnsworth lobby.

There was a stately sense of procession starting at the street and going up the carriage drive, the steps, fountains, material. Then the wrought iron doors, the magnificent corbelled vault within. This is all a gateway to the big central gallery with the knight armor, terminating in the Rivera Court.

You immediately knew you're in a historic, important place that had survived many decades and is intended to last many more. Exactly what the designers intended. And all based on centuries of successful approach/entries.

Now you go into a bland, low, dim lobby that looks like any suburban office building. They probably stated that this was to facilitate parking and circulation, but the real reason was to make you go past the gift shop and cafeteria, a common trick among new museums that never had an artful approach/entrance.

It reminds me of Vincent Scully's statement about the new Penn Station: "One entered the city like a god. One now scurries in like a rat."

On the positive side the Kresge court does indeed look great, and I like that they're trying to make it more appealing and accessible to the public.