First Toyo Ito Building in U.S. Set for Berkeley, CA

The new museum building, approximately 40 percent larger than the existing one, is expected to land at least LEED Silver certification.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 6/23/2008

Cutting-edge Japanese architect Toyo Ito, best known for his groundbreaking Tod's flagship in Tokyo, is one step closer to realizing his first project in the United States. His plan for the new Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) at the University of California has moved into the final stage of concept design.

Ito and his namesake firm Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects are banking on garnering a minimum of  LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council on the project. The design calls for a three-story, 139,000-square-foot building with a fluid steel exterior that curves to meet towering windows. The interior will comprise of a loose grid of interlocking spaces with gently curved walls that will part, in places, like pulled curtains to allow passage between the exhibition areas.

The new facility, initiated following a 1997 survey that found the museum's existing concrete structure did not meet current seismic standards, will house a whopping 20 galleries, two theaters, a museum store and café, a screening room, the Conceptual Art Study Center, a learning center, and a library.

"Given UC Berkeley's leadership role in art education, architecture, design, engineering, and research, it was incumbent upon the museum to create a building of the very best quality, both aesthetically and functionally," says UC Berkeley chancellor Robert Birgeneau. "Toyo Ito's concept design for BAM/PFA gives us just that. It will be an icon for the entire Bay Area."

BAM/PFA draws more visitors than any other university art museum in the country and boasts a collection of 15,000 works, including paintings by Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, as well as 14,000 films and videos. The final design for the new museum is expected to be completed at the end of 2009 and the facility is set to open in 2013.