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The Guggenheim Fills the VoidView 21 Photos

The Guggenheim Fills the Void

Since it opened in New York City in 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has captivated the world--and its imagination. To celebrate the building's 50th anniversary, the museum invited artists, designers, and architects from around the globe to design their dream intervention for the iconic void of the central rotunda.
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Submissions came in from today's top designers--including modernists and Dwell favorites like BIG, JDS Architects, Terunobu Fujimori, MVRDV, and others--and range from the void as a forrested swamp to the void as a state fair.

Flow Show (2009) by WORKAC. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Flow Show (2009) by WORKAC. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

The work is being showcased in the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim and is on display from February 12 until April 28, 2010. If you can't make it--or if you're like me and can't wait to see some of the designs--view our slideshow of images from the exhibition.

Untitled (2009) by Josephine Meckseper. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by Josephine Meckseper. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

New York 2109 (2009) by Terunobu Fujimori. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

New York 2109 (2009) by Terunobu Fujimori. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

New Roof, Berlin Olympic Stadium (2009) by Paul Pfeiffer. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

New Roof, Berlin Olympic Stadium (2009) by Paul Pfeiffer. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by N55. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by N55. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Let's Jump! (2009) by MVRDV. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Let's Jump! (2009) by MVRDV. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by Doug Aitken. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by Doug Aitken. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

State Fair Guggenheim (2009) by MAD Architects. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

State Fair Guggenheim (2009) by MAD Architects. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

FLW in His Element (2009) by Saunders Architecture. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

FLW in His Element (2009) by Saunders Architecture. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by Alyson Shotz. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by Alyson Shotz. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Morris in Guggenheim (2009) by M/M. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Morris in Guggenheim (2009) by M/M. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

SPIDERMUSE(UM)...WRIGHT-O-WEB...SPINNING GUGGY... (2009) by Acconci Studio>. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

SPIDERMUSE(UM)...WRIGHT-O-WEB...SPINNING GUGGY... (2009) by Acconci Studio>. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Guggenheim as a Ruin (2009) by Sarah Sze. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Guggenheim as a Ruin (2009) by Sarah Sze. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

The House of a GI-A Proposal (2009) by Matthew Ritchie. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

The House of a GI-A Proposal (2009) by Matthew Ritchie. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Experiencing the Void (2009) by Julien De Smedt Architects. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Experiencing the Void (2009) by Julien De Smedt Architects. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Shark China (2009) by Zhang Huan. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Shark China (2009) by Zhang Huan. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Proposal for One-Year Parade (2009) by Pierre Huyghe. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Proposal for One-Year Parade (2009) by Pierre Huyghe. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Z Wave (2009) by Zaha Hadid Architects. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Z Wave (2009) by Zaha Hadid Architects. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Erratic Void (2009) by SelgasCano. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Erratic Void (2009) by SelgasCano. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by Nari Ward. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (2009) by Nari Ward. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (Proposal) (2009) by Peter Coffin. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Untitled (Proposal) (2009) by Peter Coffin. On display at the Guggenheim Museum February 12 through April 28, 2010, as part of the exhibit Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum.

Miyoko Ohtake
When not writing, Miyoko Ohtake can be found cooking, training for her next marathon, and enjoying all that the City by the Bay and the great outdoors have to offer.

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