Overview
It takes one article (rather than a ticket) for us to travel from Central America to North America. CIVMATS just make it happen! Following our trip at Torres Bicentennial Museum in Mexico last week, we will resume our exploration into the world of stainless steel through the case of Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum in USA this week. Now let us start our journey together!
Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum
Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum is also affectionately called "The Broad MSU". The partial name MSU which is the abbreviation of Michigan State University tells something both about the address and of the background that will be disclosed later. It is situated at the northern edge of the MSU campus.
Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum is the art museum of Michigan State University (MSU) as well as a must-see landmark in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. It is a three-story building with one basement and two stories above ground, covering 4274 square meters in terms of building aera. The Museum includes 1600 square meters of exhibition space, an Education Wing, a shop, a café and administration offices. There are also a pedestrian plaza and a sculpture garden on its 6038-square-meter land aera.
The Museum boasts over 7000 works of art with a focus on contemporary art, but its history collection can be traced back to as early as Greek and roman Periods (Michigan Economic Development Corporation2025). It accommodates both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The Museum serves not only Michigan State University as a campus lab, but also the broader community as a public forum. It connects city and campus as a cultural hub through art that challenges, inspires and provokes thinking. Even the Museum itself is a work of art.
The Lead Gift for Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum
Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum is thus named not without a reason. Instead, it speaks a lot about its background information. The Museum is named for Eli (a businessman and alumni of MSU) and his wife Edythe Broad who donated $26 million in 2007 as a gift for the Museum. The Broad’s, devoted to philanthrope, prove long-term supporters of MSU. Back to this case, the donation worked almost as a catalyst that transformed a long-held vision into reality.
Prior to the Museum, MSU had an art collection split among different campus buildings without a dedicated place to house and exhibit all of its holdings. The requirement for a consolidated, state-of-the-art museum East Lansing could visit became increasingly apparent with MSU’s growing commitment to arts and humanities (Frank Johnson 2025).
The original plan was to rebuild a new museum to replace the old midcentury Kresge Art Museum, but somehow Eli Broad changed his mind for something more transformative. With the endorsement of MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon, they decided the home for the new museum to be the prominent site of the 1947 Paolucci Building. A competition was held and Zaha Hadid stood out in 2008 to design the museum. The construction was commenced in 2010 and completed in November 2012.
The Design of Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum
Zaha Hadid (1950/10/31 - 2016/3/31) was nicknamed the Queen of Curve. When associated with the case of Investcorp Building in Oxford University previously introduced, it couldn’t be more vivid. Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum was just her another architectural marvel and also a typical example of deconstructivism.
The Museum was designed to maintain a strong relationship with the complicated location and the surroundings, “creating great curiosity yet never fully revealing its content” (Zaha Hadid Architects 2012). The existing pathways were a series of two dimensional lines of circulation, contributing to the geometry shapes of the museum. Through her design, this complexity turned into “urban carpet” allowing the divergent pathways on which people move through and around to converge on this one site. It also makes possible different interpretations when designing exhibitions. The interior spaces echoed to the complex geometry, featuring dramatic angles, sloped walls, irregular volumes, as well as twisted and turned corridors. The diverse spatial experiences were purposely designed so to create a journey of discovery and opportunities for reflection.
Stainless Steel Applied in Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum
The exterior of Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum is clad mainly in stainless steel panels and glass.
Stainless steel stood out as the best choice from mock-ups of distinct materials. The geometrical shapes of the Museum required excellent formability possessed by stainless steel. According to ISST (2025), the stainless steel panels that constituted the building façade could be bent to a radius even smaller than the thickness (1.5mm). Grade 316L was selected for its excellent corrosion resistance in harsh environments, such as the deicing salt used on nearby pathways in winter.
Plus, stainless steel is versatile in terms of finishing, a feature designers can hardly resist. This is true with Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum. The polished stainless steel finish of the building can reflect its surrounds like the sky, the trees, the interplay of light and shadow, the changing weather and seasons in a dynamic way. Meanwhile, it creates a contrast to the adjacent neo-gothic red brick buildings on campus, asserting its distinctive presence.
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