“The project concept has centered on the idea of creating a quiet oasis in the middle of buildings and urban commotion,†said Emanuela Baglietto, partner-in-charge from Renzo Piano Building Workshop of Genova, Italy. “The oasis given by the garden is bounded by stone walls, and the building is composed of six stone walls covered by a light roof structure that allowed the penetration of natural light.â€
The building's exterior is comprised of 25,000 square feet of 2-inch-thick pieces of Etruscan travertine with a waterjet finish, “entirely concealing the facility's environmental and security systems, and providing a quiet setting for the presentation of sculputure.†In addition, the exterior site walls are comprised of 30,000 square feet of the same stone in pieces that are 4 feet long x 2 feet wide x 2 inches thick.