Yann Weymouth is a Florida-based architect and the designer of the Salvador Dalí Museum. Did you know that he is the older brother of Tina Weymouth, the bassist for the art-rock band Talking Heads from 1974 to 1991?
After graduating from Harvard University in 1963 and MIT School of Architecture in 1966, Weymouth worked as the chief of design for I.M. Pei on the Grand Louvre Project in Paris. In 1989, the year the Grand Louvre Pyramid opened, Engineering News-Record named Weymouth one of its Men of the Year.
Photo: © Moris Moreno
Weymouth then went to work for Arup, SOM and Arquitectonica. From early 2001 to 2013, Weymouth served as senior vice president, design director, and worldwide design board member for Hellmuth Obata + Kassabaum (HOK) Architects.
The Salvador Dali Museum in Florida (2011)
Photo: © Moris Moreno
The design challenge was to create an affordable, iconic building symbolic of the Spanish painter’s work. The team ensured technical feasibility and design excellence while avoiding “kitsch.”
Photo: © Moris Moreno
The design opens up the thick concrete walls with a free-form glass and steel geodesic structure that intrigues visitors while bringing daylight and bay views into public spaces. The 23 m tall geodesic glass “Enigma” and the 14m tall “Igloo” are formed by 1,062 undulating faceted glass panes. They are all different from one another and are installed on a geodetic steel net so as to create the unusual shape of the building.
Photo: © Moris Moreno
Solid connections between the glass sheets and the structure are a characterizing element of the building design and protect the building itself from the action of the strong winds that could hit it.
Photo: © Moris Moreno
Photo: via HOK
About the Author:
Bruno Dursin – Managing Director at Believe in Steel. Bruno has more than 30 years of experience in promoting steel & steel solutions. His clients benefit from his extensive network within the building industry.
