ARCH004 → In Zenithal Light - A Museum for the Works of Richard Diebenkorn
Google Earth Site Collage
In Zenithal Light: A Museum for the Works of Richard Diebenkorn explores the experience of architectural space under natural light from above. Located in Berkeley, California, the museum is dedicated to Diebenkorn’s paintings and works on paper, while also framing his connections to the Bay Area Abstract Expressionist school.
Lighting Study Model
Guided by Louis Kahn’s notion that “the space induces the project,” this exercise explores the design of a 32-foot cubic gallery lit only from above. The space balances intimacy and distance—allowing visitors to approach Diebenkorn’s paintings at a tactile scale, while also stepping back to grasp their full composition. Through carved volumes, tectonic and stereotomic contrasts, and the modulation of zenithal light, the project creates a luminous, contemplative interior at the threshold of the museum.
Diebenkorn’s work was deeply tied to place, from Berkeley to Ocean Park. Inspired by this sensibility, the design emphasizes the layering of landscape and the bodily scale of the artist’s canvases, grounding the museum in both site and human experience.
Guided by Louis Kahn’s idea that “the space induces the project,” the design begins not with program but with light and room. Iterative studies—from the cube exercise to sectional explorations—develop into a holistic proposal for museum and garden.
Design development emphasized the calibration of daylighting, environmental control for conservation, and the spatial layering of entry, gallery, and courtyard. Structural explorations engaged the balance of tectonic (light, frame-like) and stereotomic (heavy, earthbound) construction, while sectional studies examined vertical connections between earth and sky.