The de Young Museum in San Francisco, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Fong & Chan, is the most visited art museum west of the Mississippi, attracting 1.2 million visitors annually. The design features a striking copper-clad exterior and well-lit interior spaces aimed at enhancing the visitor experience with natural light, but it faces environmental criticism due to copper runoff pollution. Despite its impressive architecture, concerns regarding sustainability and structural challenges have arisen, highlighting a dichotomy between its aesthetic appeal and ecological impact.

1. The de Young Museum,
San Francisco, CA
2005, Herzog & de Meuron Designer, Fong & Chan Architects
Photo courtesy of FAMSF

2. Quick Facts!
● Most visited art museum west of the Mississippi
● 6th most visited art museum in North America
● 1.2 million visitors last year.
● American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, textile
arts, and art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.
● Original museum opened in 1895, aged poorly and was done
in by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.
● 1999 competition for design won by Herzog & de Meuron
(Designer) & Fong & Chan (Architects)
● $135 million to construct

3. I Chose this because I didn’t like it.
● Heavy, dark, sharp, industrial,
● “huge shed”, “Internet start-up
company” and an “aircraft carrier”.
● It isn’t cozy, it isn’t a friendly
building from the outside,
● Architecture=Rhetoric for a space
● Monolithic form sparks the sense
of adventure, like a pyramid or
ziggurat, it invites you to explore Photo courtesy of FAMSF

4. Materials
● Natural materials including copper, stone,
wood and glass
● The copper rainscreen that sheaths the
building took 950,000 lbs of copper, largest
copper-clad building in the world.
● The mantra of Herzog & de Meuron is to
focus on using common materials in an
uncommon way.
● Copper plating which is expected to
eventually oxidize and take on a greenish
tone and blend into the park.
● Ball-bearing slide plates and viscous fluid
dampers help withstand future earthquakes
Photo courtesy of FAMSF

5. The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Photo courtesy of FAMSF

6. The Good: Outside
● Flat base and tower draw
the eye to the museum,
and it looks both ancient
and modern.
● 144 foot tower twists from
the ground to the sky
● It aligns with the grid
formed by the streets of
the nearby
neighborhoods.
● At the top an observation
floor provides views of the
Bay area.
© Iwan Baan

7. Exterior Transformation
Photo © Thomas Mayer
● The building's copper
skin was chosen for its
changeable quality.
● Through oxidation, will
assume a patina over
time.
● This will let it blend in
with the surrounding
natural environment.

8. Copper Skin Effect
Photo © Thomas Mayer
Photo © Thomas Mayer
● Texture and
patterning of copper
skin was Jacques
Herzog’s.
● Visiting Golden Gate
Park he took pictures
of the effect of
sunlight filtering
through the leafy
trees of the park.

9. The Good: Interior
● Once inside it is light and more
non-descript.
● The focus of visitor is no longer
on the building but instead on the
art
● Takes advantage of what light is
available in the Bay.
● You still have a sense of the
outside because of all of the light
filtering through the copper skin.
● You don’t feel confined.
Photo © Thomas Mayer

10. Interior Transformation
● The rotating
exhibits that are in
the lower gallery
are able to
transform their
environment.
○ Tutankhamen
○ Andy Warhol
Picture credited to FAMSF

11. Museum Navigation
● Easy to lose
yourself, hard
to get lost.
● You won’t
miss artwork
in your
wandering of
the museum.
Picture credited to FAMSF

12. Photo courtesy of FAMSF

13. The Bad
● Copper structure canopy was
meant to cover the outdoor
cafe.
● It leaks copper dust and tainted
copper runoff onto patron’s
food and cafe furniture.
○ A permanent temporary
structure has been placed
under the canopy.

14. The Ugly
● The building is anti-sustainable.
● Copper run off from the building is poisoning the
environment 73.5lbs of copper run off/year.
● This is equal to 25% of the copper pollution for all of
Palo Alto.
● Copper runoff is such a severe problem in Palo Alto that
they issued an Ordinance that prohibits copper roofing
materials.

15. How and What
Architecture (What): User needs & site objectives, FAMSF Mission
statement: it needs to serve, be accessible, and draw broad audiences.
● Draws people to the structure through imposing size and tower.
● Series of outside corridors all lead visitors to the the main entrance.
Design: (How): Interaction design, navigation design.
● Interior of building is easily navigated, it allows for easy flow of traffic
and guides visitors.
● Interaction between the art inside and the art and natural beauty
outside.
To be good it doesn’t have to be beautiful.

16. References
http://www.critiquethis.us/2009/12/17/de-young-museum-by-herzog-de-meuron-the-copper-killer/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Young_(museum)
https://deyoung.famsf.org/about
https://deyoung.famsf.org/about/history-de-young-museum
http://www.arcspace.com/features/herzog--de-meuron/de-young-museum/
http://www.copper.org/consumers/arts/2010/august/restoring-de-young-museum-with-copper.html