Building as Register: ICA Media Center by Diller + Scofidio + Renfro

From http://www.dillerscofidio.com/ica.html:

"The new Boston Institute of Contemporary Art is located on the harbor at Fan Pier in south Boston. The 62,000 square foot building includes 18,000 square feet of galleries, a performing arts theater, a restaurant, a bookstore, education/workshop facilities, and administrative offices.

The Boston Harborwalk borders the north and west edges of the ICA site. This surface is metaphorically extended into the new building as a pliable wrapper that defines the building’s major public spaces.  Above the wrapper sits the "gallery box": a large exhibition space on one level that dramatically cantilevers over the Harborwalk toward the water."

There are a lot of interesting and successful parts of this building.  The Media Center room there is particularly interesting for our discussions of "building as register" because of the 'fold' that exposes a specific view to the water below.

The Media Center is the wedge-shaped protrusion below the ICA’s distinctive 80 foot cantilevered top floor and as one visitor describes it "really shows what happens when you allow talented architects to do what they want: space is transformed. Water fills the front edge of the room’s view and the sensation of hanging is palpable."

Above: Design Drawing for Media Center room at the ICA by Diller + Scofidio + Renfro

 Above: Media Center room under construction in 2006

Above: Media Center room completed by Diller + Scofidio + Renfro