Young Museum travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

The Young Memorial Museum by Herzog & de Meuron is a remarkable revival of a building that no longer exists. The original museum, dated back from 1895, was  a fair modeled on the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, located in the sunny San Francisco, California. However the new design consists of a bold striking structure that is as much part of the exhibit as the art it contains. A visitor’s experience begins from outside of the museum. The landscape was designed to create a pleasant, functional environment that would allow visitors to enjoy California’s welcoming climate.

The museum features a public sculpture garden, a terrace beneath a cantilevered roof, and a children’s garden. The rest of the landscape design focuses on creating a link between the building and its surroundings through historic elements from the original de Young Museum that include original palm trees along with the Pool of Enchantment and sphinx structures that have been standing since the opening of the 19th century museum.

The landscape design includes pathways that lead into the four entrances of the museum, allowing visitors to enter from any side of the building. Inside, wood floorings create a warm atmosphere that lead visitors from room to room. Large ribbon windows continuously remind art lovers of their exterior surroundings, blurring the lines between inside and outside. At the top an observation floor provides views of the Bay area. The tower’s dramatic twist in its center is a bold statement both close up and from a distance, and is a distinguishable modern monument that honors the history it was designed to represent.