Calatrava’s Milwaukee Art Museum gets handsome addition by HGA

The Milwaukee Art Museum opened a new lakefront atrium in November, adjacent to Santiago Calatrava’s bird-like Quadracci Pavilion. The two-story addition is situated on the east side of the building, right along Lake Michigan.

The museum provides some great views, and that’s not counting the thousands of works of art that are stored there. Inside, visitors can look through the full-height, low-iron glass windows to see the lake. 

Passersby outside can see an array of warm colors as the sun reflects off the building’s second story, which is wrapped in bands of stainless steel that were washed in a chemical bath and pressed with shark-skin texture.

The building has a rooftop plaza and a green roof, which has walking paths. On the inside, more gallery space has been included to show photography, media arts, and design displays. The walls are white and the concrete floors are polished, which gives the building a clean feeling. 

The $34 million addition was built after six years of planning and 14 months of construction. The Milwaukee Art Museum was built in 1955, and previous additions were made in 1975 and 2001. The project’s architect was HGA Architects and Engineers, and Hunzinger Construction handled the construction.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more.