Despite Corona, spectacular museums are opening around the world
After two years of the pandemic, the longing for culture is great, and one is pleased to note that the list of new museums is gratifyingly long. It is often not only the exhibits themselves that are attractive, but also the unusual architecture of the houses.
Architect Frank O. Gehry designed the Museo de la Biodiversidad in Panama City
Quelle: picture alliance / dpa
Whe happy Lego. The roof resembles a brightly colored jigsaw puzzle made up of red, orange and blue areas. The Museo de la Biodiversidad in Panama City on the banks of the Panama Canal looks as if oversized, colorful toy building blocks have been wedged together. It was only in the middle of the 2020 pandemic – almost six years after its preliminary opening – that the last exhibition halls were completed almost unnoticed.
The spectacular Biodiversity Museum is Frank O. Gehry’s only building in Latin America. At the same time, its open roof cleverly simulates the crown of leaves in the jungle. When it rains, the tropical-warm water drops rush to the ground in some places, just like in the rainforest. Must have seen. So let’s go to the museum shower!
Museums are finally opening again all over the world. After two years of the pandemic, the anticipation of cultural events is great, and one is pleased to note that the list of new museums is gratifyingly long. The pent-up demand for culture, packaged in spectacular architecture to amaze, is huge: 30 million Germans like to go to the museum on the go, and more than every second (57 percent) is already sure to go on vacation in 2022.
The Germans are gripped by wanderlust – travel bookings have risen sharply
Two years of pandemic means two years of restrictions. Tour operators are now seeing a sharp increase in bookings. A popular destination: Greece.
Source: WELT/ Fanny Juschten
According to an Allensbach survey, over 35 million Germans favor a city tour, perhaps also because they have hiked enough outside and counted ants walking through nature. It’s time for cheerful high culture.
The architecture of new museums fascinates
And Frank O. Gehry, who, by the way, turned 93 on Monday, created another spectacular landmark – in French Provence. Around 11,000 twisted aluminum tiles that reflect the sky and shine like metallic crystals in the light of the Mediterranean sun.
In Arles, Frank O. Gehry designed one of the largest private contemporary art projects in Europe, the Luma-Arles
Source: pa / dpa / MAXPPP / Bruno Vedel
They adorn the facade of the 56 meter high box tower, which towers over the roofs of Arles. In 2021, the Swiss billionaire Maja Hoffmann (from the Hoffmann-La-Roche pharmaceutical dynasty) opened one of the largest private contemporary art projects in Europe called Luma-Arles.
Around 11,000 twisted aluminum bricks adorn the facade of the 56 meter high tower in Arles
What: pa/abaca/Adventurer Patrick/ABACA
It is even more cheerful and colorful in Portugal: in the new „Pink Palace“ visitors discover the rosy side of a good drink. It is the seventh and most eccentric of all the “World of Wine” museums in Porto. In eleven pink-colored rosé wine rooms, visitors learn everything about worldwide vine cultivation and the art of winemaking.
To keep things from getting too dry, five drinks are served in the museum: Quinta do Vale do Bragão Rosé, Gran Vin de Provence Rosé, Mateus Rosé, Vértice Rosé Bruto and Croft Pink Rosé Port.
You could also travel to Dubai in the Middle East, where the new museum of the future opened on Sheikh Zayed Road, is also an architectural delight: the egg-shaped building with an oval hole in the middle looks like an eye through which visitors can venture a glimpse into the future. Its stainless steel facade is decorated with Arabic calligraphy.
The Museum of the Future in Dubai is already worth seeing from the outside
Source: pa/Jürgen Schwenkenbecher
Or would you prefer to go back to antiquity? Then on to Egypt to the pyramids of Giza: That’s where it should be Grand Egyptian Museum open in November; it shows for the first time all 5000 treasures of Pharaoh Tutankhamun – including the famous golden mask.
When the “Golden Parade of the Pharaohs” parades through Cairo
Thousands of years after their deaths, the mummies of 22 kings and queens of ancient Egypt have been transported through Cairo in a ceremonial procession.