A New Wave: Design Museum Holon

Annie Block and Mark McMenamin -- Interior Design, 1/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

An early computer rendering shows Israel's Design Museum Holon by Ron Arad Associates.

London is the longtime location of Ron Arad Associates, but its namesake principal's native country is Israel—where the Design Museum Holon has been slowly rising from the ground. The 36,000-square-foot structure is a sculptural object in itself, its exterior constructed of five sinuous bands of Cor-Ten steel in varying stages of the weathering process. Inauguration day is January 31, also the date chosen by the city to mark its 70th birthday. The debut exhibition opens later. As of March 4, "The State of Things: Design and the 21st Century" will present more than 100 products by the likes of Maarten Baas, Patrick Jouin, and Nendo. The pieces were chosen by a four-curator team including Interior Design contributing editor Aric Chen.


The museum's Cor-Ten steel exterior.