The Scenic Vision: From Washington To Warsaw

Architect Thomas Phifer of the New York office Thomas Phifer and Partners presents two major cultural works — one, in a pastoral setting outside Washington DC, the other in the heart of the city of Warsaw. Each embodies remarkable approaches to the use of space and light evocative of Sir John Soane’s architecture.

The Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland, occupies 300 acres of pastoral property, where a series of crafted concrete pavilions housing daylit rooms strikingly exhibit contemporary art assembled by its founders, Emily and Mitchell Rales. Phifer’s expansion to the Rales’ museum and residential complex opened in 2018, and now includes a structure dedicated to the art of Richard Serra that he designed in 2022.

The second cultural institution, the Museum of Modern Art, is in the center of Warsaw, Poland. The concrete building, scheduled to open in the fall of 2024, features daylit galleries and rooms with views of the city’s skyline. Nearby, the TR Warszawa Theater of dark steel is expected to be completed in 2026. It is distinguished by prominent garage doors that open onto a public plaza to better integrate the interior space with the surrounding architectural heritage.

Lecture by
Thomas Phifer
Principal
Thomas Phifer and Partners

Introduction by
Paul L. Whalen
Chairman
Sir John Soane's Museum Foundation

The Scenic Vision In Architecture Lecture Series: https://soanefoundation.org/lectures/...