Robert Olnick Pavilion

The Robert Olnick Pavilion extends the MagaZZino Museum of Italian Arte Povera in Cold Spring, New York. This new Pavilion comprises two floors and takes the form of a straight rectangular parallelepiped made of reinforced concrete.

Particular attention is given to the main exhibition area, designed as a white, cubic, isotropic space intended for temporary exhibitions and serving as a focal point of the museum. An isotropic space exhibits the same properties in all directions and from any point within it. To enhance the spatial experience, we created openings measuring 2,10 x 2,10 x 2,10 x 2,10 meters at each corner of the 10 x 10 x 10-meter cubic space. These openings allow sunlight to enter at any time of day, resulting in a wonderful spatial effect.

The decision to use 2,10 meters for the size of the openings ensures that they can also function as doorways when positioned on walls in contact with the floor. Following this simple logic, we omitted the opening corresponding to the floor plane. Additionally, we drilled a 2,10 x 2,10-meter hole in the center of one wall to provide a comprehensive view of the spatial arrangement.