Frye Art Museum

   During my day of touring around Seattle, I visited the Frye Art Museum. It is also located on Capitol Hill in Seattle. From the outside, the museum look rather ordinary, but once you reach the entrance, is when you see the beautiful architecture begin.

   The entrance is a series of arches, or an archade, made of bare concrete. The simplicity of the material fits perfectly with the honest straightforward design. Rick Sundberg, the architect that did the design, was there and talked about how he wanted the entrance to be an experience. His vision was to prepare visitors to see the art in the museum. He spoke of how we all come to buildings equally, and how the arches were set up in a sequence with the water pool to create a sense of calm before entering the structure.

   Inside, the rotunda is the star of the building. It has a domed ceiling that is a perfect sphere. The rotunda, the sphere, and the entire building are based on the golden section. Even the pavers are based on this geometric theme.  Mr. Sundberg also talked of the buildings theme on light, and how it is used to move people through the space. The light enters through windows a s well as shafts that stream light into the space. It was definitely am inspiring space, with many great ways of playing with light in an interior space.