Jewish Museum Berlin
Berlin, Germany Completed 2001
The Jewish Museum Berlin, which opened to the public in 2001, exhibits the social, political and cultural history of the Jews in Germany from the fourth century to the present, explicitly presenting and integrating, for the first time in postwar Germany, the repercussions of the Holocaust. The new building is housed next to the site of the original Prussian Court of Justice building which was completed in 1735 now serves as the entrance to the new building. Daniel Libeskind's design, which was created a year before the Berlin Wall came down, was based on three insights: it is impossible to…
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MO Modern Art Museum
Vilnius, Lithuania Completed 2018
Conceived as a cultural gateway that connects the 18th century grid to the medieval walled city, the Studio Libeskind's design for the MO Modern Art Museum is a destination and new public space for the surrounding neighborhood. The new museum references the local architecture in form and materials while becoming a modern space dedicated to the exploration of Lithuanian artist works from 1960 to the present. The collection, belonging to Viktoras Butkus and Danguole Butkiene, co-founders of the non-profit Modern Art Center (MAC) Vilnius, contains more than 4,000 works including paintings: Vincas Kisarauskas "Falling Broken Man" 1965; Arvydas Saltenis "Woman"…
Dutch Holocaust Memorial of Names
Amsterdam, The Netherlands Completed 2013; Opening 2021
Situated along the Weesperstraat, an important axis within the Jewish Cultural Quarter, the Dutch Holocaust Memorial of Names is adjacent to the Hermitage Museum, East of the Diaconie's verdant Hoftuin garden and café, just a stone's throw from the Amstel River and in close proximity to important Jewish cultural institutions such as the Jewish Historical Museum and the Portuguese Synagogue. The 1,550 square meter memorial incorporates four volumes that represent the letters in the Hebrew word לזכר meaning "In Memory of". The volumes are arranged in a rectilinear configuration on the north-south axis of the main thoroughfare Weesperstraat and the…
National Holocaust Monument
Ottawa, Canada Completed 2017
The National Holocaust Monument, established through the National Holocaust Monument Act by the Government of Canada, will ensure a permanent, national symbol that will honor and commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and recognize Canadian survivors. The Monument stands on a .79 acre site at the intersection of Wellington and Booth Streets within the historic LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, symbolically located across from the Canadian War Museum. The Monument honors the millions of innocent men, women and children who were murdered under the Nazi regime and recognize those survivors who were able to eventually make Canada their home. The Monument…
Museum of Zhang Zhidong
Wuhan, China Completed 2018
Located at the site of Wuhan's old steelworks, Studio Libeskind's design is a sweeping ark-like structure that is hoisted above the surrounding plaza by two steel and glass structures. The gravity defying form is clad in geometric steel panels, reminiscent of the industries' past. Once inside, visitors climb the main staircase that connects to the exhibition spaces above where they are divided into four themes about the accomplishments and ideas surrounding the life of Zhang Zhidong. The exhibition also includes various collaborations with local artists who explore aspects of the differing themes through installations and interactive works of art. On…
Tikva – Jewish Museum Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal In design 2021
Entitled Tikva, which means Hope in Hebrew, the Jewish Museum Lisbon will portray the history of the Jewish presence in the territory that is now Portugal, namely in Lisbon, and will share the contribution of the Jews by showing that the Jewish heritage is an indissoluble part of the country's history. It intends to preserve and divulge Jewish memory and experience and to value cultural differences, thus promoting inter-religious integration. The Museum will be located in Belém of Lisbon, Portugal and is currently in design.
Vanke Pavilion
Milan, Italy Completed 2015
The corporate pavilion for Vanke China explores key issues related to the theme of the Expo Milano 2015, "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". The concept for the Vanke Pavilion incorporates three ideas drawn from Chinese culture related to food: the shi-tang, a traditional Chinese dining hall; the landscape, the fundamental element to life; and the dragon, which is metaphorically related to farming and sustenance. All three of these concepts are incorporated in the Vanke Pavilion's exhibition, architecture and program. Situated on the southeast edge of the Lake Arena, the 800-square meter pavilion appears to rise from the east, forming…
Toronto, Canada Completed 2007
The extension to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), now named the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, is situated at one of the most prominent intersections in downtown Toronto. It is the largest Museum in Canada and attracts more than a million visitors a year. Its new name is derived from the building's five intersecting metal-clad volumes, which are reminiscent of crystals—inspired by the crystalline forms in the ROM's mineralogy galleries. Libeskind created a structure of organically interlocking prismatic forms turning this important corner of Toronto, and the entire museum complex, into a luminous beacon. The design succeeds at inviting glimpses up, down,…
Kurdistan Museum
Erbil, Iraq In design 2009
The site of the new Kurdistan Museum will be the first major institution to dedicate itself to the preservation and education of the Kurds' national heritage to the region and the world. In collaboration with the Kurdistan Regional Government and client representative RWF World, the team has embarked on a visionary project to share the story of the Kurdish people with the world and inspire an open dialogue for the future generations within Kurdistan. Situated at the base of the ancient Citadel, in the center of Erbil, Iraq, the 150,000 square-foot museum will feature exhibition spaces for both permanent and…
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and Grand Canal Commercial Development
Dublin, Ireland Completed 2010
Located on the Dublin waterfront, the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, formerly the Grand Canal Theatre, is a 2,000-seat theater at the heart of a multi-use complex conceived for by the City of Dublin as part of a plan to revitalize its docklands. Studio Daniel Libeskind completed the theatre in 2010 and an office complex called the Grand Canal Harbour development a year later. The theater overlooks a public plaza designed by Martha Schwartz Associates. Like a grand outdoor lobby, the plaza invites the public to view the soaring glass façade of the theater much like a glass curtain, which tilts…
Manchester, United Kingdom Completed 2001
The Imperial War Museum North (IWMN) in Manchester, England, tells the story of how war has affected the lives of British and the Commonwealth citizens since 1914. The design concept is a globe shattered into fragments and then reassembled. The interlocking of three of these fragments—representing earth, air, and water—comprise the building's form. The Earth Shard forms the museum space, signifying the open, earthly realm of conflict and war; the Air Shard serves as a dramatic entry into the museum, with its projected images, observatories and education spaces; and the Water Shard forms the platform for viewing the canal, complete…
Museo Regional de Tarapaca
Iquique, Chile In design 2019
Iquique, Chile
Studio Libeskind has designed a new museum building for the Museo Antropologico Regional (MAR) de Iquique (Regional Anthropological Museum of Iquique), that will display more than 6,000 years of history of northern Chile. The inspiration for the design entitled 'El Dragon de Tarapacá' came from the stark landscape of the Atapaca Desert, the giant cliffs and the urban dune of Iquique, the 'Cerro Dragon'. It consists of three pairs of parallel vertical walls shaping the major spaces of the museum. The materials reference the pallet and textures of the surrounding natural landscape. The new museum will have approximately 3,760 square…
Extension to the Denver Art Museum, Frederic C. Hamilton Building
Denver, Colorado, USA Completed 2006
Studio Libeskind's extension to the Denver Art Museum is the Studio's first building to reach completion in the USA. Silhouetted against the majestic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, Libeskind's design consists of a series of geometric volumes inspired by the peaks and valleys of the mountain range. A sharply angled cantilevered section juts across the street, pointing towards the existing Museum by Milanese architect Gio Ponti, which first opened in 1971. The Frederic C. Hamilton Building, as the 146,000-square-foot Denver Art Museum extension is named, is clad in an innovative new surface with 9,000 titanium panels that cover the building's surface…
Military History Museum
Dresden, Germany Completed 2011
Now the official museum of the German Armed Forces, the Dresden Museum of Military History has assumed varying and contradictory identities across its history. The building began its life as an armory, before becoming the Saxon Army Museum, followed by a stint as a Nazi military museum, then a Soviet and East German Museum. Uncertain of the institution's role in the reunified state, the German government closed the museum and launched an international competition to redesign the structure. Studio Libeskind was selected as design architect for the extension in 2001, after presenting a bold design outside the competition guidelines. The…
Vectors, Liberation Route
Berlin, Germany Under construction 2018
The Vectors of Memory, designed by Studio Libeskind will mark the Liberation Route Hiking Trail that follows the path that the Western Allies took during the liberation of the continent. Stretching almost 3,000 km. from London to Berlin the vector markers are designed in different forms and sizes to be flexible enough to mark significant waypoints on the trail, and easy to install in different environments. The Vectors will mark the numerous personal stories from different (national) perspectives. By highlighting storylines from the final phase of WWII from these different points of view, the route focuses on the value of…
The Wings
Situated in the heart of the Milan Expo in the Piazza Italia, four 10 meter-high (33 ft.) shimmering tree-like sculptures anchored the four corners of the central square in Milan, Italy. Conceived as gates each structure's dynamic form spiral out of the ground and spread into two branches spanning 10 meters over the square. Crafted out of brushed aluminium and fitted with innovative LED technology, the Wings animated the public space with a constant flow of pulsating patterns and imagery related to the theme of the Expo: health, energy, sustainability and technology. London-based media agency Innovision provided the creative content for the display…
Contemporary Jewish Museum
San Francisco, California, USA Completed 2008
Studio Libeskind designed this new museum in the heart of downtown San Francisco as an ode to dialogue, inserting its angled, glowing blue steel-clad structure within a historic red brick power plant from the 19th century. The building design is based on the two Hebrew letters spelling "L'Chaim," which means "To Life." Following the Jewish tradition, according to which letters are not mere signs, but substantial participants in the story they create, the 'chet' provides an overall continuity for the exhibition and educational spaces, and the 'yud,' with its 36 windows, serves as special exhibition, performance and event space. The…
Centre De Congrès à Mons
Mons, Belgium Completed 2015
Mons, Belgium
Studio Libeskind completed this innovative convention center in time for the advent of cultural and diplomatic activities in 2015, when this small medieval town transformed into the European Capital of Culture. The City of Mons conceived the Congres Centre as a new architectural landmark, a key element in a plan for economic revitalization, and as a connector between the old and the new. From the light- steel viewing platform at the top, a visitor can see the 17th-century Beffroi tower, a UNESCO Heritage Site of Belgium, in the historic center of town, and a new train station designed by Santiago…
Extension to the Felix Nussbaum Haus
Osnabrück, Germany Completed 2011
Osnabrück, Germany
Daniel Libeskind was invited to return to the Felix Nussbaum Haus in Osnabrück, Germany, his first completed project, to design an extension 13 years after the museum's opening. Attached to the Kunstgeschichtliche Museum and connected to the Felix Nussbaum Haus by a glass bridge, the new building transforms the existing buildings into a cohesive complex by acting as a gateway. Studio Libeskind employed grey plaster and anthracite frames to harmonizes with the existing buildings and create a seamless ensemble. The extension appears less as an additional element as it does a prism from which the original Libeskind-designed building is refracted from…
Felix Nussbaum Haus
Dedicated to the oeuvre of a Jewish artist put to death at Auschwitz, the Felix Nussbaum Museum is an extension to the Cultural History Museum in Osnabrück, Germany, where Felix Nussbaum was born in 1904. As well as displaying paintings created by Nussbaum, the museum presents changing exhibitions focusing on the themes of racism and intolerance. With sudden breaks in its pathways, unpredictable intersections, claustrophobic spaces, and dead ends, the structure of the building reflects the Nussbaum's predicament as a Jewish painter in Germany before WWII. The museum is composed of three interconnected structures, each referencing a different temporality in…
Danish Jewish Museum
Copenhagen, Denmark Completed 2003
Located in one of the oldest parts of Copenhagen in Denmark, the Danish Jewish Museum is housed in a former 17th-century boathouse and library built by King Christian IV. Studio Libeskind designed the new interior space, while preserving the historic building. Visitors enter into a dynamic and exhilarating structure which offers a seamless organization of the artifacts and the path of the visitor. The entire building has been conceived as an adventure, both physical and spiritual in tracing the lineaments that reveal the intersection of different histories and the dynamics of Jewish Culture and its unfolding in contemporary life. Studio…
Outside Line
Uozu, Japan Completed 1997
Uozu, Japan
Outside Line, an installation situated in the Sports Park near the city of Uozu, Japan, was proposed as a place to contemplate the relationship between man and nature. The project was inspired by the search for a contemporary understanding of space and light, and its design was informed by a precisely determined web of conceptual, topographical relationships between objects and space, eye and mind. A red line orients itself upon an imaginary axis connecting the descending history of the Buried Forest Museum and the ascending horizon of the Tateyama mountain range. This line creates special, ever-changing qualities of light and…
Studio Weil
Mallorca, Spain Completed 2003
Studio Weil is a painting and sculpture studio designed and built for the American painter and sculptor Barbara Weil overlooking the sea in Port d'Andratx in Mallorca, Spain. Daniel Libeskind worked closely with Ms. Weil to create a building that not only responds to the surrounding landscape, but also forms a space which complements and contrasts the artist's work. The structure draws on Libeskind's explorations of architectural drawing theory that were executed in the Chamberworks series, which, in turn, would form the basis for his entry in a 1997 competition to design a virtual house. Libeskind chose to deconstruct his virtual…
V&A Museum Extension
London, England Completed 2002
The competition for the new extension to the Victoria and Albert Museum was won by Studio Libeskind in 1996. The design for The Spiral, in collaboration with Ove Arup's Cecil Balmond, pushed the boundaries of engineering and architectural theory. The design is an upward spiral of intersecting planes, creating a jagged vortex inserted between three Grade I listed buildings. The building is derived from an extruded section of a fractal pattern: a geometric pattern relating to the Golden Section. The extruded line was then wrapped upon itself to create the unique shape of the non-axial spiral. The system of continuous, interlocking wall…
Memoria e Luce, 9/11 Memorial
Padua, Italy Completed 2005
The Memoria e Luce is a memorial located in Padua, Italy for victims of the 9/11 attacks on New York City. A twisted steel beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, which was donated by the United States to the Veneto Region and in turn to the City of Padua, was used to realize the design of an open and luminous book. The memorial was created with the support and collaboration of Permasteelisa.
Glass Courtyard, Jewish Museum Berlin
This 7,000 square foot addition to the Jewish Museum in Berlin is located in the courtyard of the historical building, "Kollegienhaus", which was built in 1735. The museum needed a multifunctional space that would provide additional room for the museum's restaurant and extend the lobby to provide event space for lectures, concerts, and dinners. The distinctive architecture of the addition creates a space that can be used throughout the year while preserving the courtyard qualities of the baroque building. Within the columns supporting the roof, there is a sophisticated sound system and within the enclosure itself, a stage rises from…
Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial
Columbus, Ohio, USA Completed 2014
Columbus, Ohio, USA
This outdoor memorial in Columbus, Ohio was conceived to keep alive the memory of the millions who lost their lives in the Holocaust and the American soldiers who liberated those in concentration camps. Studio Libeskind's design encourages the contemplation of ideas and values that cut across generations, ethnic identity, and creed. Approaching from the Statehouse, the visitor walks on a limestone walkway between inclined, graduated stone walls and two stone benches towards a pair of large 18-ft-high bronze panels. Embossed with a story told by a survivor of Auschwitz, the panels are also irregularly angled at their inner edges. The…
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