The ultra secret selection committee to hire an architect for San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) expansion apparently let word slip on a few firms that are being considered.
Yesterday, Curbed SF reported that eight architects were being invited, although Curbed’s source only leaked six of them. The six firms are: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (better known as Rem Koolhaas); Steven Holl; David Adjave; Snøhetta; Renzo Piano; and Diller Scofidio Renfro.
Other sources, however, have reported to this writer that the other two invited firms were Norman Foster and Peter Zumthor, both Pritzker Prize winners. Interestingly, Foster’s office is reputedly declining to compete for the project.
Another unconfirmed invitee, Enrique Norton, has also been reported by the San Francisco Business Times, bring the total possible to nine. Examiner.com has been unable to verify Norton's inclusion on the list.
Officially, SFMoMA would not comment on any architects being invited or not, nor would the museum comment on whether any local architects had been invited. When asked why the process was so secretive, the museum public relations office could only say, “It’s just to keep the process internal.”
In other words, if the process were public and transparent, SFMoMA would be open to all the kibitzing, sniping, and whining this town is capable of and it’s hard to imagine the Schwab’s and the Fisher’s and other heavy hitters on the museum board being up for that. Let’s not forget, the entire reason for the expansion is to fit the Fisher collection in--the same Fisher collection that suffered a rather ignominious defeat in an attempt to build an art museum in the Presidio a year ago. The initial architect for that project, Richard Gluckman (Gluckman Mayner), got some pretty rough handling from the opponents of that project, enough so that he and the Fisher’s eventually parted ways. Surely, SFMoMA does not want to let their architect (whoever it may be) go down in those kind of flames.
So for now, officially, it’s all ultra secret.
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