The new building is a rectangular volume with walls slightly inclined outward and inward. Its perimeter is made permeable: its facades are cut by niches, where small courtyards are arranged - new public spaces for students to relax and communicate. In addition, the project involves the creation of a new area nearby, where various events could be held. Inside the building, in closely interconnected cubic spaces, there will be exhibition halls, storage rooms, classrooms. The new building will develop the idea of dynamic connection and mutual influence of the building and its urban environment, characteristic of Ito's work.
While the project is at the initial stage of development; a more detailed version will appear later this year. The new cultural center is due to open in 2013.
In 1999, a study was conducted of the old building of the Berkeley Museum of Art and the Pacific Film Archive, and its condition was found to be inadequate in terms of seismic safety (which is extremely important for the San Francisco area). Then it was decided to build a new complex.
The Berkeley Museum of Art was founded relatively recently - in 1963, but its collection includes outstanding works of art from Asian countries from antiquity to the present day, as well as works of 20th century artists from around the world.
The Pacific Film Archive contains the largest collection of Japanese films outside Japan, a large collection of Soviet silent films, American avant-garde cinema, rare examples of animation, films from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, etc.
