Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, 1972-1988

The Corning Museum of Glass (4 linear feet, 474 drawings; 1972-1988) in Corning, New York, was conceived in 1976, following Mr. Birkerts' stimulating and productive experience as Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome. Since 1972, he had worked on an exploratory concept for the New Glass Center at Corning, incorporating external and internal people-moving transportation systems into his attenuated building design. However, in 1976, he developed a bold, new, expressive vision for the Museum, which was inspired and supported by Thomas S. Buechner, the president and director of the Corning Museum of Glass. Testifying to Mr. Birkerts' gift as a maker of powerful and often metaphorical forms, this building encompasses seven interior galleries laid out on an orthogonal grid within its flowing, amorphous exterior walls, clad in stainless steel-backed panels of patterned glass. Thus, the architect juxtaposes the irregular form of molten glass on the outside of the building with the organized structure of frozen glass crystals on the inside.

Just as the undulating shape and innovative use of luminous surface materials make the Museum of Glass one of the significant modern buildings of the twentieth century, so too the "linear periscope" window which winds around the exterior wall is a major character-defining feature and gives distinction to the project. With 45-degree, angled mirrors above and below, the continuous, ribbon window shields the interior galleries from direct sun and its associated heat, while at the same time connecting the viewer with direct images of the glass manufacturing plant in the distance. This innovative, kaleidoscopic lighting is at once energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing. The seven exhibit galleries and library of the Museum are hefted on concrete columns one story above the flood plane of the Chemung River, while the administrative offices and mechanical equipment are housed on the recessed first floor. The exhibit space offers four layers of investigation by museum-goers. The Grand Hall with its twelve "masterpiece columns," containing glass artifacts of great artistic and technological achievement, gives way to the seven galleries representing historic periods of glass-making over 3500 years. As one moves through the galleries toward the perimeter of the building, the number and density of exhibited objects increases, with a total of 19,177 on display altogether.

The Corning Museum of Glass series of the Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection includes four linear feet of textual records, which document in writing the design and construction of the building, and 474 drawings, which graphically represent the evolution of the architectural design process from "Schematic Design" through the "Design Development" and "Construction Document" phases. The pairing of the narrative with the visual records gives scholars an unusually rich, multi-dimensional picture of the design and construction management activities of a major architectural firm in the last half of the twentieth century. Design students, architectural historians, preservationists and other researchers will appreciate the depth and breadth of documentation for this and other buildings in this collection in the days just before the advent of computer-aided design, when design development and working drawings alike were still being created by the hand of the architect.

Researchers may wish to begin their study of this building by reading the "Architect's Conceptual Statement" and the article from Architectural Record which follows within the narrative records. These materials will enrich their understanding of the program and Mr. Birkerts' innovative solutions which drove the design process for the Corning Museum of Glass. "Memoranda," "Correspondence" and "Cost Estimates" from 1972 to 1975 describe the evolution of the New Glass Center (Museum of Glass I), the earlier unbuilt project which explored human transportation systems to and within the building. The "Original Specifications" of 4/3/78 for the Corning Museum of Glass II spell out in writing the firm's requirements for the construction of the building and correspond directly to the visual "Construction Documents" of the same date. "Addenda # 1 and 2," which amend the "Specifications", describe in writing changes made to the contract documents and include 164 small 81/2x11" original drawings and prints representing these revisions.

The narrative records in the Museum of Glass series also include "Bulletins #1-7," "Memoranda #1-117," and "Correspondence In and Out" between the firm, client, contractor and consulting engineers, which chronologically describe every decision and meeting relating to the construction of the building from the beginning of the design process in 1976 to the end of construction in 1980. Of particular note is a folder containing samples of exterior and interior finishes, laminates, paints, fabrics and tiles, including a small panel of the innovative, stainless-steel-backed, patterned glass with which the building is clad. Also housed in this series are the firm's narrative documents pertaining to Corning Glass Works' collateral projects, including the renovation of the existing Corning Glass Center and the development of a master plan for the site.

The 474 architectural and engineering drawings in the Corning Museum of Glass series are chronologically arranged by design phase. Researchers interested in viewing 13 conceptual drawings and cut-out representations of the Corning Museum of Glass I and II are directed to the Gunnar Birkerts Collection, which amasses all of the conceptuals by the architect's own hand for most of his buildings. Please consult the finding aid for this second collection which lists all of these valuable drawings, representing in many cases the moment of conception of Mr. Birkerts' projects.

The Corning Museum of Glass series within the Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection contains "Schematic Design Sketches," "Presentation Drawings" and "Design Development Drawings" as well as "Preliminary Drawings" by Paul H. Seiz Associates, Exhibit Designer. These include original pencil and ink drawings on tracing paper and vellum as well as colored marker drawings on blue-line and sepia prints. Prints have been kept in this collection when they are substitutes for missing originals or when they contain annotations which contribute to our understanding of the evolution of the design process. Architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical "Construction Documents" show revisions through 12/78, and "Shop Drawings" on blue-line prints by Flour City Architectural Metals include elevations and details of the innovative window wall and skylight systems of the Museum. These may be of significance if renovation of the building is ever contemplated in the future.