The Wexner Center for the Visual Arts : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)
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Abstract
The Wexner Center for the Visual Arts is a building designed by architect Peter Eisenman and located on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio. The purpose of the center is the exhibition and presentation of contemporary works of art. Eisenman's design was selected in a design competition in 1983 and construction was completed in 1989. This building has been highly publicized, documented, and criticized, and this research project seeks to understand why. The background of the university, Eisenman, and the design competition process are integral pieces necessary to understanding the successes and failures of the building. This project compiles the preconstruction criticism and expectations of the building, the architectural criticisms at its opening, the post-occupancy evaluations of the building, the renovations currently taking place, and my personal reactions to the design. This project is especially unique because it is rare for a single writer to thoroughly examine a building in all stages of its history.