MSU breaks ground on art museum
From left: Edythe Broad and her husband Eli Broad, MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson break ground on the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at an event held Tuesday at the future site of the museum next to Berkey Hall.
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About a year after groundbreaking for the multimillion-dollar Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum was supposed to take place, 14 shovels dug into the vacant lot by Berkey Hall on Tuesday to the sound of applause.
After years of pushed-back deadlines and funding uncertainties, construction on the museum officially is underway.
Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony attracted more than 400 people and marked a gathering of the project’s VIPs. The museum’s namesake couple, its architect, London-based Zaha Hadid, and a slew of MSU administrators attended.
“Whenever I come back, I’m reminded of what a great university this is,” said Eli Broad, the billionaire alumnus who has donated $28 million for the museum’s construction and art acquisition, shortly before participating in the ground breaking. “(Edythe and I) consider it a privilege to give back.”
Coming together
Video: Breaking Ground ...
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, who took part in the groundbreaking, said the ceremony showed the university’s commitment to constructing the museum.
Estimates put its cost in the $40 million to $45 million range. It first was announced in June 2007, and is expected to take about 20 months to complete.
“We’re really excited about today,” Simon said at an event at Kellogg Center prior to the ceremony. “It’s no longer just an idea, but something that will become a reality.”
Broad said he chose to donate money for an art museum for three reasons: education, art and architecture. He said the museum will be a valuable asset to both MSU and the surrounding communities.
“It’s a great day for the university,” Broad said. “It gets an iconic piece of architecture that’ll expand the art program here at the university, for students, for faculty; but more importantly, it’ll draw people to this campus from throughout the world.”
Hadid, who in 2004 received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious architecture awards, said she was encouraged by an acquaintance to submit a bid to design the museum.
She said Joseph Giovannini, a former art and architecture reporter for The New York Times, convinced her to enter the international competition MSU held to find an architect for the museum. Giovannini organized that competition.
Hadid also said she was motivated because she values education and culture as staples of society. The museum will be Hadid’s second project in the U.S., with the other being the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati.
“This project particularly is exciting to me,” Hadid said during her remarks at the ceremony. “Culture is one very important aspect of this journey for kids or grown-ups.”
From the ground up
The museum will be situated across from Student Services and primarily will be constructed of steel, concrete and glass.
At least once during the years leading up to the ceremony, Hadid was asked to rework her design in a way that would keep the museum’s budget as low as possible and make its pleated exterior more resilient during inclement Michigan weather.
The end result is a 46,000 square foot, three-level building that will be about 69 percent gallery space. The remaining space will be administrative offices, seating areas and educational space.
Craig Kiner, Hadid’s project director for the museum, said the building was designed to correlate art and community.
“Art and cultural buildings tend to be more dramatic,” Kiner said. “They tend to make more … of an impact on their context and be seen to offer, I suppose, an optimism to our clients and to the areas.”
Various groups will be working during the museum’s construction to bring everything to fruition, including a museum advisory board created last semester to help the university through the process.
Steve Noll, an MSU alumnus and Chicago-based patent attorney who serves on the board, said it will be working with the university during the construction process.
“We’re trying to … coordinate the role of the museum in the community,” Noll said. “Obviously, we’ll
be consulted on the direction that the collection takes and what types of exhibits will be shown.”
Hadid’s firm also will have a hand in construction matters, Kiner said.
Funds needed
Simon said the university has continued fundraising and expects to see further improvement in light of the groundbreaking.
Mark Terman, director of principle gifts for University Development, said although progress has been made, the university still is near its Jan. 20 estimate of about $33 million.
“There’s been some progress because, you know, when things become a reality, people want to be able to get on the bandwagon,” Simon said. “And I think until the groundbreaking was announced, the people were always a little bit uncertain that this project could go forward.”
Broad said he has faith the university will reach its fundraising goal.
“I have confidence they’ll get there,” Broad said. “They’re well on their way home, and as the economy improves, it’ll be a little easier.”
Commentary
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Off to a bad start
(03/16/10 6:52pm)Report
Those are the ugliest hardhats I’ve ever seen.
Michael Scott
(03/16/10 9:26pm)Report
You’re the ugliest hardhat I’ve ever seen. Boom roasted.
OMG
(03/16/10 9:39pm)Report
Are those hardhats ever ugly! Bright yellow would of been so much better! YIKES!!!!
Money
(03/16/10 10:30pm)Report
Yes, more monopoly money. Thank you my liege for offering your monopoly money to direct our labor and physical resources towards your temple and legacy. A thousand thank yous.
Mike
(03/17/10 12:32am)Report
To Money,
You are a fuc*ing idiot.
PinK Floyd here:
(03/17/10 1:31am)Report
$MONEY$_______$$$$$$$
Words to $Money$
(03/17/10 1:35am)Report
Money lyrics By Pink Floyd
Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and your O.K.
Money it’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I’ll buy me a football team
Money get back
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off my stack.
Money it’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit
I’m in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
Money it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it’s no surprise that they’re
giving none away
“HuHuh! I was in the right!”
“Yes, absolutely in the right!”
“I certainly was in the right!”
“You was definitely in the right. That geezer was cruising for a bruising!”
“Yeah!”
“Why does anyone do anything?”
“I don’t know, I was really drunk at the time!”
“I was just telling him, he couldn’t get into number 2. He was asking
why he wasn’t coming up on freely, after I was yelling and
screaming and telling him why he wasn’t coming up on freely.
It came as a heavy blow, but we sorted the matter out”
MSUALUM
(03/17/10 9:02am)Report
Who invited Granholm? Was she there to f*** something else up? She probably dug into a gas main with her track record of success.
Mr Wizard
(03/17/10 10:05am)Report
It will be an eyesore on our beautiful campus. It really matches everything around it.
amanda
(03/17/10 11:30am)Report
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100317/NEWS06/3170326/MSU-thinks-big-in-new-art-museum
Check out what it’s going to look like… gag
Spencer
(03/17/10 2:21pm)Report
Yikes, what an ugly building. And what’s with the faceless shadow people in the illustrations? You can get a closer look at them here: http://broadmuseum.msu.edu/ is that supposed to make it look more inviting? It’s like village of the damned.
Is that a one-legged child holding his parent’s hand in the background? What in the world?
Lyle
(03/17/10 2:31pm)Report
Just looked at the additional photos. Truly about the ugliest mass of concrete and metal I’ve ever seen. A disgrace to MSU and the beautiful campus.
Goes well with the football team.
green
(03/17/10 3:04pm)Report
While it doesn’t go with the north campus architecture, I think this building will be a nice addition to the campus. We’ve needed a new art museum for some time (Kresge is out-of-date), and the Broads gave money for this sole purpose. I’m actually excited to visit this “mass of concrete and metal” once it’s up.
Jason
(03/17/10 4:06pm)Report
The title of this piece is wrong. It should be titled, “Public breaks wind on art museum.”
'05 Alum
(03/17/10 4:41pm)Report
As a recent alum, I’m happy to see this beginning. Internationally recognized architects don’t just come to college campuses every day and design buildings that will surely draw attention to the school and the community for years to come. Be thankful MSU has generous donors to support these projects, as every time someone cites MSU at the national level (academics, architecture, programs, sports) it increases the applicant pool and raises the value of your degree. Riots and burning couches do not.
Someday, when you talk to someone from another place and they ask “Oh, Michigan State? Isn’t that where they have that really nice _ _ _ _ _?” Do you really want them to say “farm”?
Brilliant
(03/17/10 4:42pm)Report
This building is nothing short of brilliant. For those detractors, do you really think another brick building or a sixties era monstrosity like the student services building will attract people to the university? This building will bring people to East Lansing, if only to gawk. Last time I checked the only thing worth gawking at in EL are all the fools who come out to “riot” when the Spartans win or lose or whenever. Time to move on people and join with the rest of the world in celebrating one of the finest architects alive and working right now.
Eliot Singer
(03/17/10 7:20pm)Report
“Bring people to E. Lansing to gawk.” First attempt I’ve seen to offer an explanation for how this new museum (or the non-existent technology innovation or anything else in the “wonderful future of E. Lansing” spin from Staton, Loomis, and cronies) is supposed to factor into the economic good times to come.
The number of people who will come to East Lansing to see this piece of architecture, even if it is brilliant and not just brilliant according to those who worship avant garde for being avant garde, will be fewer than the number of people currently celebrating St. Paddy at the Peanut Barrel. I hope it will be a nice new art museum for the MSU and local community, but people do not do art tourism to places without big league art, and even then it is usually while coming to a place for other purposes. I’m sure a riot at Cedar Village will always attract more visitors to town than art. I don’t particularly like that, but unlike the spinmeisters in City Hall, I do have a sense of how to spell cookie.
@'05 Alum
(03/17/10 7:27pm)Report
Yes…I do want them to say “farm”!
Do you know MSU was the first Land Grant university? Do you know our roots?
Do you know we have a great College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as farms, that other ag schools envy?
Do you like to eat? Thank a farmer and those working in ag. They keep you alive so you can do what you do…even if it is talk crap about their hard earned lifesatyle.
@'05 Alum
(03/17/10 7:27pm)Report
Yes…I do want them to say “farm”!
Do you know MSU was the first Land Grant university? Do you know our roots?
Do you know we have a great College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as farms, that other ag schools envy?
Do you like to eat? Thank a farmer and those working in ag. They keep you alive so you can do what you do…even if it is talk crap about their hard earned lifesatyle.
@'05 Alum
(03/17/10 7:28pm)Report
Yes…I do want them to say “farm”!
Do you know MSU was the first Land Grant university? Do you know our roots?
Do you know we have a great College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as farms, that other ag schools envy?
Do you like to eat? Thank a farmer and those working in ag. They keep you alive so you can do what you do…even if it is talk crap about their hard earned lifesatyle.
Dev
(03/17/10 8:44pm)Report
WHAT A COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY!! wITH ALL THIS PROGRAM AND BUDGET CUTS AND U WANT TO BUILD A FREAKIN MUSEUM!!
pirate_king
(03/17/10 9:25pm)Report
They should have at least put it on south campus, where the buildings are more modern. On north campus, it will stand out like a sore thumb.
Also, why didn’t they hire an American architect?
haha
(03/17/10 9:53pm)Report
East lansing is a hickville. The town needs modern architecture. I guess too many of you like to hang out at walmart. I know, it is a happening place.
haha
(03/17/10 9:54pm)Report
East lansing is a hickville. The town needs modern architecture. I guess too many of you like to hang out at walmart. I know, it is a happening place.
MSUALUM
(03/17/10 11:13pm)Report
@Pirate_King
If an American Architect had the skill that this London architect did, they would have. They bid it out to 5 architects, and price/design were the deciding factors. American architecture generally sucks.