The menil collection: light as design impetus

摘要

The Menil Collection building, designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Fitzgerald in Texas, presents a rare opportunity to study the role of building envelope design in mediating light and heat. Specifically, the roof system, which is comprised of a glass layer held over a series of equally spaced concrete leaves. The focus of his work is to evaluate the ability of this system to control light and heat penetration into the building. Apparently, the initial idea was proposed to achieve a desired quality of light inside the museum, by capturing the continuously changing daylight, and the excess heat gain that accumulates at the upper level which ideally will be exhausted via a ductwork system inserted between the concrete leaves and the glass.