Steven Holl: Heart: Herning Museum of Contemporary Art

The Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (HEART) in Herning, Denmark, inhabits a new building designed by renowned American architect Steven Holl, who was drawn to the project by the institution's collection of works by the Italian Conceptual artist Piero Manzoni. In 1960, shirt-factory owner Aage Damgaard invited Manzoni to Herning, and the industrialist's passion for contemporary art gave rise to a visionary model for cooperation between businesses and artists that ultimately led to the establishment of a new museum. As detailed in this richly illustrated book, Holl's complex museum is surrounded by a landscape of hills and ponds that meshes with his structures; the single-story building itself, with its natural light and innovative roof construction, refers to the formal vocabulary of the 1960s factory opposite. In reference to its origins, an overhead view of the museum recalls outstretched shirtsleeves while the façade resembles wrinkled fabric.