Tadao Ando revisits the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St Louis

The Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St Louis is Japanese master Tadao Ando's very first freestanding public commission in the United States, completed in 2001.

Since August 2014, the original building has been undergoing a makeover, in consultation with Ando, to accommodate the foundation's growing needs.

Responding to an increasing demand for space, the new project includes a significant expansion of the foundation's gallery area. Arranged within the building's lower level, two major new display spaces, which previously hosted offices and storage, will now be part of the institution's exhibitions and activities program, aimed to engage the wider public and local community. These new spaces increase the foundation's program capacity by a striking near-fifty percent.

At the same time, the organisation (previously known as The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts) relaunches under a new name 'to emphasise [its] institutional vision'.

This is the building's first major alteration since its completion in the early noughties. And Ando's skilful redesign is focusing on more than just increasing floor space; a new, additional staircase will support movement through the building and help with visitor flow, perfecting both circulation and visitor experience within the new and old parts.

 

The Pullitzer Art Foundation's building is an exercise in concrete, Ando's usual material of choice. Here, pictured, the western facade. Photography: Robert Pettus

 

A short flight of steps leads up to the disrceet front entrance. Photography: Robert Pettus

 

The original building also included a serene watercourt. Photography: Robert Pettus

 

These two new spaces increase the foundation's program capacity by 50 per cent. Pictured here, Gallery E. Photography: Alise O'Brien

 

Previously hosting offices and storage, the redesigned areas are now seamlessly connected with the rest of the building through the watercourt entrance. Photography: Alise O'Brien