The Rock n Roll "Shopping Mall"

From the Louvre project, I. M. Pei was encouraged by his children and others to design one of the most popular museums in the United States. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio was constructed from 1993-1995. This museum, like many of I. M. Pei's buildings in the International Style similar to the architecture of Philip Johnson, was designed using a great deal of glass and many of modern architecture's most ingenious materials and forms. This structure takes into account many important aspects of post-modern architecture including a regionalist sensibility, the use of modern materials, and shows a consideration for the context and collections held within the building. I. M. Pei employed the forms of popular shopping mall architecture into this museum. As the shopping mall impacted architectural design and cultural socializing in the late 20th century, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame borrows many of the mall's most prominent features such as the large walkways and escalators. He designed a prominent first floor, entry-level museum store for the consumer society. The museum's strategically located ticket and information desk allows crowds to move from the front doors to the all important escalators upon which visitors travel from exhibition gallery to gallery effortlessly.

The interior collections of memorabilia is immediately referenced from the building's exterior. For instance, the physical form of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame building refers to the symbols of the recording industry. A grand patio and pavilion area accommodates live outdoor, stadium style concerts. At one entrance to the museum, a major exhibition area in the form of a record turntable and spindle serves as a gallery space. Finally, the major framework of the museum is a large pyramidal form in glass. This allows visitors to view other floors as well as the outside of the building while riding escalators between gallery levels. This building is a stunning structure, a marvel of museum architecture, and a major accomplishment for both the architect and the history of architecture.

fonte: http://www.drloriv.com/lectures/rrhallfame.htm