Architectural Digest reports on WHY’s design for the Speed Museum

“Louisville’s Speed Art Museum—the oldest and largest such institution in Kentucky—reopened last month after a multi-million dollar expansion that initiated in 2008 through a request for qualifications. Acclaimed Thai architect Kulapat Yantrasast and his American studio, wHY, beat out designs from Bjarke Ingels, Bernard Tschumi, Snøhetta, and Jeanne Gang for the project, which doubled the museum’s overall area to 200,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor space and tripled its gallery space. Originally opened in 1927, the Speed’s first building, a Beaux Arts gem devised by architect Arthur Loomis, was also reconfigured during the renovations to seamlessly connect to a sleek new addition, dubbed the North Pavilion, linked to the old structure via a suspended bridge.

At 60,000 square feet, the attention-grabbing annex cuts a cantilevered silhouette of corrugated metal panels and fritted glass, its double-height lobby boasting an auditorium with indoor-outdoor capabilities and a 675-pound hanging light installation by artist Spencer Finch. The second and third floors house the Speed’s debut collection of contemporary artworks. wHY, which worked with local studio KNBA as architect of record, also completed a new South Pavilion on the site, containing extra gallery space, a 142-seat cinema, and an outdoor sculpture garden.”

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