Architecture for Contemporary Art; A configurational Approach to Space and Identity in Guggenheim Museums

Besides its architecture, Guggenheim’s configuration is characterised by its high qualities of art collections. The meaning of a worldwide museum also gives to Guggenheim a commercial identity. The Solomon R. Guggenheim New York was to be an ultimate expression of organic and sculptural architecture. It became a model for Guggenheim’s museums' designs. The modern architecture on which Guggenheim’s organisation is embedded, have shown how buildings besides belonging to a marketplace and besides their displays of fine art, are more important in a social way; the formation of identity in modern society. Over past centuries, science, knowledge and art, were significant. In this way, museums gradually began to exhibit specialised objects. Besides this, the role of a museum started to go beyond the classification of objects. It could be said that museums began to generate their identity through the objects they exhibit, through the social enterprise they represent, and even generate the identity of the objects themselves. Guggenheim’s configuration suggests a museum type based on spatial properties. The cultural intent type defined for Guggenheim Foundation involves two main characteristics; the expansion of business in the field of contemporary arts, and an experimental model for displaying original expressions of artists. The conception of the functional character of the project is reflected in its circulation system and architectural intent. It could be argued that Guggenheim’s genotype is based on controlling spaces allowing visitors of the displays to explore contemporary art on one hand and experiment with modern architectural forms on the other