Robots Will Construct a New Museum in Seoul and Other Art and Design Industry News
What you need to know this week—from an expansion of Sotheby’s New York to the Royal Academy of Art’s $13 million gift
1. Robot Science Museum in South Korea Will Be Built by Robots
Melike Altınışık Architects has unveiled plans for a Robot Science Museum in Seoul, which will be built using robotic construction techniques and drones. Robots will also be used to 3-D print the concrete landscaping around the museum. Construction will begin in 2020.
2. Sotheby’s New York to Expand Gallery Space
The auction house announced a redesign and expansion of its headquarters on New York’s Upper East Side that is being led by the designer Shohei Shigematsu of the Rem Koolhaas–founded firm, OMA. Several new galleries are being added, and the exhibition space will grow to more than 90,000 square feet (up from its current 67,000). Sotheby’s new location will open on May 3.
Recommended: Architect Junya Ishigami to Design 2019 Serpentine Pavilion
3. London’s Royal Academy of Art Gifted $13 Million
Britain’s oldest art school, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, announced that it has been gifted $13 million—the largest donation ever received by the institution—from Swedish businessman Hans Rausing and his wife, Julia. The funds will support the restoration of the academy’s central London campus.
4. Saint Petersburg Museum Evacuated Due to Bomb Threat
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was evacuated on Thursday, February 21, after it received an emailed bomb threat. A museum spokesperson reported that the Mariinsky Theater, a shopping mall, and a number of schools and universities were also targeted and reported the messages to the authorities.
5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Receives Donation of 10 Colonial Latin American Works
São Paulo collector James Kung Wei Li has donated several pieces of Latin American art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collector’s father acquired the pieces while he was a Chinese ambassador in South America.