Its great to see the museum so busy, and to see that architecture really does have the power to hook people who are not already converts. The Hadid wall of fly through images of the completed buildings has the audience transfixed by the scale of what she is building, and you can hear a constant stream of people go wow! when they first catch sight of the darkened first floor, and the chandelier. We have a constant stream of high profile visitors to show around.
James Purnell, the new culture minister came in for an hour during his first week in his new job, which certainly says a lot about the architectural literacy of the Brown government.
Great to see Hadid’s drawings for the exhibition turning into physical form as the installation takes shape. I realise now that this moment is what I really missed out on by giving up a career in architecture to become a critic. It’s magic, and every morning at the museum I start the day with a look at how far the work has gone. The museum now has what really feels like a fully fledged Zaha building on its first floor. Read the rest of this entry »
