Institute of Contemporary Art

Founded in 1936 and rebuilt in 2004, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston is the oldest museum of contemporary art in the United States. It is the first major building designed by New York avant-garde architects Diller Scofidio & Renfro in the United States and stands on the edge of the harbour in the Seaport District.

In order to accommodate the required space, it was raised and hoisted into the air above the four-metre-wide Harbor Walk. The result is a dramatically cantilevered gallery that rises 25 metres above the ground.

The box-shaped structure is clad on three sides in toughened LAMBERTS LINIT^®EcoGlass. The pearl structure of the glass surface provides excellent light diffusion within the building and makes it glow like an oversized lantern on the edge of the harbour when it is dark.

The building's façade, clad in laminated glass, offers views of the sea. The 6,500 square metre museum houses galleries, a 330-seat multi-purpose theatre, a restaurant, a bookshop, educational facilities and administrative offices. A special feature is the media library, which protrudes diagonally downwards from the building and offers a dizzying view of the waves.