Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, United States. Architect: Herzog + de Meuron, 2005.

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Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the expansion nearly doubled the size of the Walker Art Center, included additional gallery space, a theater, restaurant, shop, and special events space. In contrast to the solid brick of the existing building, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and opened in 1971, the walls are completely glazed, which will allow direct eye contact between the busy thoroughfare of Hennepin Avenue, the new interior of the WAC, and the new enlarged Sculpture Garden. This glazed street level running parallel to the slightly angled street will function like a "Town Square" open to everyone as a meeting point, a place to exchange information and news or to have a cup of coffee. People can also circulate here without going to an exhibition or attending an event. On looking at the new Walker Art Center from outside, one is immediately struck by the huge, irregular windows. They look accidental but are homologous forms, showing a kinship in value and structure, somewhat like the shapes of a silhouette cutting. The papery appearance of the facade, also resembling a silhouette, consists of panels, which can simply be folded up along the slanted edges of the openings. Fragile and papery cladding will also be used for the inside of the theater, with its stud-wall construction.