‘In it for the long haul ,’ Me nil Collection postpones Drawing Institute opening
Inside the Menil Drawing Institute, daylight and shadows wash the angled ceiling of the “living room” entry space above the construction scaffolding and plywood covered floors.
The institute, originally scheduled for an Oct. 7 opening, may look like it’s moving along, but on Wednesday, Menil Collection Director Rebecca Rabinow announced that it has been postponed until sometime next year. Three planned exhibitions for the space are also being shuffled.
“We’re in it for the long haul and have very exacting standards,” she said. “Better to take time and get it perfect than open too early.”
Rabinow is not ready to commit publicly to a future opening date, saying the organization’s earlier movein plan was “probably a little too aggressive.”
Construction has taken longer than expected for the sophisticated, innovative building, she said.
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Sheryl Kolasinski, who had managed the project, left the Menil on June 30 to become COO of the Houston Zoo, but Rabinow said that did not impact the schedule.
Although it looks deceptively simple outside, little in Johnston Marklee’s design is out of the box. The $35 million facility is the first freestanding building in the U.S. devoted to the study, preservation and display of works on paper.
Architect Sharon Johnston compared the project to making a watch.
“All the pieces come together in such a precise way,” she said. “And it’s a small building, so a lot of the trades are working on top of each other.”
The steel canopies that frame the three courtyards are not just custom-made: They’re the first of their kind. In place now, they are a marvel of suspension, appearing to hang in the air unsupported at open corners that serve as courtyard entries.
The landscaping is not just for looks, either: Shade from the new trees is “totally integral to the measurable quantities of light” that are necessary for the safety of the delicate works on paper inside the rooms, Johnston said. And gutters must be installed before the trees can be craned into the courtyards.
The huge main gallery inside the building is nearly complete, as are offices, study rooms, a conservation studio and an intimate “salon” with rich oak paneling.
Although the landscape is still dirt, about 150 new trees and many smaller plants are in the ground; and the shape of the new park between the MDI, the new energy house and the Cy Twombly Gallery is visible.
The exterior cladding is going on, including distinctive vertical gray cedar planks for the most visible parts of the building and horizontal siding.
When the building does open, the landscaping will look more mature, Rabinow said.
Delays are not unusual on a Menil project. The museum’s main building by Renzo Piano opened a year behind schedule, in 1987, because it, too, had an innovative roof, and founder Dominique de Menil wanted to get it right.
After the architect and contractor turn over the building, the Menil conservators will spend several weeks “commissioning” it, testing the air and lighting before moving the artworks in.