Gae Aulenti, HOK, LDA and Wong Selected As Architectural Team For New Asian Art Museum.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 3, 1996--Internationally renowned architect Gae Aulenti and the joint venture of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, LDA Architects and Robert Wong Architect have been selected to design the new Asian Art Museum in San Francisco's Civic Center, Johnson S. (Jack) Bogart, chairman of the Asian Art Commission and the Asian Art Museum Foundation, announced today.

The new Asian Art Museum will occupy the Old Main Library, built in 1917 as a key component of the Beaux Arts Civic Center Plan, and recognized as one of the city's most important historic structures. "We face the challenge of creating an inspirational showplace for an unparalleled collection of precious art, while protecting and preserving the integrity of an historic design," Bogart noted. "The architectural team we have selected represents the finest international experience in both the design of exhibition facilities and the rehabilitation of historic structures."

Gae Aulenti of Milan, widely recognized as a premier museum and exhibition designer, specializes in the adaptive reuse of historic structures to museum spaces. Her award-winning projects include the Muse d'Orsay in Paris, which was converted from an enormous railway station built in 1900, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, adapted within the framework of an 18th century Venetian palace, and the National Museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona, the former National Palace built in 1929 for an international exposition.

Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), an international design firm with 23 offices worldwide -- including its San Francisco office established in 1966, also brings substantial experience in historic renovation and restoration to the New Asian project. HOK orchestrated the largest preservation project in the history of St. Louis, converting the 1894 Union Station into a mixed-use development. HOK also provided master planning services for adaptive reuse of the Tacoma Union Station, a Beaux Arts building listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Other HOK projects include the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

LDA Architects, Inc. is a San Francisco firm with significant experience in the downtown area, including the programming and design of the Yerba Buena Gardens Children's Center currently under construction, and the rehabilitation and seismic retrofitting of the YWCA Clay Street Center, an historic structure designed by Julia Morgan. Robert B. Wong AIA Architects/Planners is also a San Francisco firm with substantial background in the design of public facilities, whose projects include the addition and alterations to the Presidio Officers Club.

Forell/Elsesser Structural Engineers, who will be responsible for the seismic retrofit and the design of the base isolation seismic system, has extensive experience in historic renovation, including the San Francisco City Hall and Oakland City Hall.

The HOK/LDA/RWA joint venture will act as the prime architect, working with Aulenti to incorporate her design concepts into the complete design package. This working relationship is similar to the role HOK performed with Mario Botta on the design and construction of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The selection process began in late August with the museum's issuance of a request for proposal. A field of 14 architectural team proposals was narrowed to six finalists in November, and members of the Selection Committee traveled to seven cities -- Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Paris, Barcelona and London -- visiting up to four museums a day and meeting with their counterparts to evaluate the work of the finalists.

"The selection process was thorough and rigorous," said Project Manager Langston Trigg. "All the finalists were extremely qualified -- there wasn't a candidate that was less than first-rate. All had the technical acumen and ability to handle the project. The selection was made on the basis of a winning combination of a proven track record in renovating historic buildings, experience with major seismic projects and exceptional skills in converting interior spaces."

Design objectives for the New Asian include the use of advanced technology in galleries to make collections and exhibitions more enjoyable and informative; a hands-on discovery center for children and families to explore Asian art and culture; enhanced visitor amenities such as a spacious book and gift shop, a cafe/restaurant and a theater; and improved resources for education, research and community outreach.

"The New Asian will be a destination," said Asian Art Museum Director Emily Sano, "a place sparkling with art that invites an examination of the brilliant achievements of Asia's past and present conserved for future generations. It will be much more than a traditional art museum. With new classrooms and studios for increased educational programming, new venues for performances and festivals, a library with one of the finest collections of published materials on Asian art, and expanded conservation facilities to care for art in all media, the New Asian will be a true center for the study of Asian art and culture."

"Establishing the home for the Asian Art Museum in the heart of San Francisco is one of our city's highest priorities," stated Mayor Willie Brown. "Our strength is in our diversity, our respect for each other's traditions, and our shared vision of the future. The Asian Art Museum is one of our city's greatest assets, and it will be wonderful to have the museum downtown in a prime location near City Hall."

The new museum will be roughly twice as large as the Asian Art Museum's Golden Gate Park location, and will have almost double the staff. The Old Main Library -- bordered by Larkin, McAllister, Hyde and Fulton streets -- has 180,000 gross square feet and approximately 125,000 net square feet, compared to the museum's current 90,000 gross square feet and 71,000 net square feet. Potential new construction on the Hyde Street side of the site would increase the museum's square footage to 229,000 gross and 160,000 net.

Gallery space will increase 26 percent at the New Asian, permitting dedicated space for temporary exhibitions and more representative display of the breadth and depth of the museum's permanent collection. Currently, 85 percent of the permanent collection is inaccessible to the public, relegated to storage areas for lack of exhibition space.

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, one of the largest museums in the western world devoted exclusively to Asian art, opened in 1966 as a result of a gift to the City of San Francisco by industrialist Avery Brundage. The museum's holdings include more than 12,000 art objects representing more than 40 nations throughout Asia.

With the relocation to the Civic Center and its proximity to public transportation, the downtown business district and major hotels, the museum's base visitor attendance is projected to exceed 450,000 in its first full year.

The New Asian Project cost is estimated to be $92 million. Public bond funds, approved by a two-thirds majority of San Francisco voters in 1989 and 1994, and additional funds from public sources total approximately $52 million. A $40 million private sector fund drive, which has passed the half-way mark, will complete the campaign.

The $15 million leadership gift to the campaign was made by Chong-Moon Lee, founder of Diamond Multimedia Systems and a member of the Asian Art Commission. The museum has recognized this gift by establishing the Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture at the New Asian.

The new Asian Art Museum is scheduled to open in late 2000, culminating a decade-long effort by the City of San Francisco to revitalize the Civic Center district. By the turn of the century, several buildings in the immediate vicinity of the New Asian will have been newly built or seismically renovated and architecturally restored. These include San Francisco City Hall, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, the new San Francisco Main Library, the War Memorial Veterans Building, the State of California Courthouse and the Opera House.

The combined cost for the Civic Center revitalization project is estimated at over $1.3 billion.

CONTACT: Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

Bill Goulet, 415/379-8864

or

MacKenzie Communications, San Francisco

Ann Wallace, 415/433-8200