‘Moving Image’ wins 2013 Red Dot for Architecture

By Teresa Simon

Photography: Courtesy Leeser Architecture 

Museum of the Moving Image

Winner of 2013 Red Dot Design 2013 Award in its highly competitive Architecture and Urban Design category, ‘Museum of the Moving Image’ is termed "the finest recent American example of radical design" by the Wall Street Journal.

Leeser Architecture's design for the Museum of Moving Image that was completed in 2011 and saw wide design coverage, has after a rigorous selection process (from over 4,600 works from 54 countries) been awarded the 2013 Red Dot, winning hands down for its “high quality and excellent design”.

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The stunning, modern and versatile building by architect Thomas Leeser that seamlessly blends the renovated structure with its new addition allows for the interplay of rich moving image history with innovative technology and cutting edge design. The museum houses a comprehensive collection dedicated to educating the public about the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media.

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The exterior features a ‘cut and folded’ surface, in semi-transparent, mirrored glass, displaying the museum logo; wrapping the building in an innovatively designed pattern of triangular metal panels. Inside the lobby is moulded by a surface, strategically ‘cut and folded’ to allow for the projection of moving images. Its faceted interior indicates access to the major program elements, which begin adjacent to the lobby and move throughout the building, including a 267-seat theatre, education centre, screening room, changing exhibition gallery, collection storage facility, special events space, and courtyard.   

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The expanded museum integrates the existing structure seamlessly with the new addition - the two buildings connected via a grand hallway, giving rise to an environment, where complexity is created from the convergence of imposing, enduring architecture and the fleeting transparency of the filmic image. With the core exhibition, Behind the Screen, receiving a complete technological and artistic overhaul, and a major new gallery created for changing exhibitions, new spaces have been added for the presentation of video art.

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The dramatic transformation that now guarantees the Museum is at once an international centre for the appreciation and study of the moving image, and an inviting, user-friendly destination for local museum-goers and tourists from around the world offers a wide new range of production workshops, along with the tours and screenings that serve tens of thousands of students each year.

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As this year's winning project, the design of Museum of Moving Image will be introduced in the Red Dot 2013 year book and website. Leeser Architecture will also be able to present the work to a wider audience as part of the special exhibition "Design on Stage", a four weeks exhibition starting July 2, 2013, and will subsequently be exhibited in the Red Dot Design Museum for the remainder of the year.