Bridge to Understanding

Thomas Cristensen

2003 Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Celebrating the museum’s stunning new home, Bridge to Understanding showcases both the beauty of the building and the depth of the collection, highlighting many treasures that could not previously be displayed. Exploring the museum’s role in promoting cross-cultural understanding, the text interweaves the history of the museum with the history of the city. It delves into the development, construction, and renovation of the building, which retains such historic features as a monumental beaux arts staircase while adding a dramatic indoor/outdoor escalator, a new third level, and signature V-shaped skylights that illuminate an indoor courtyard designed by the architect on the model of an Italian piazza.