Design
Design Flaw of the Day: Maximum Flexibility, No Picasso
Museum design isn't all about light and air. Security is important too.
Of all the infamous architectural instances of prizing form over function -- the various structural mishaps of the John Hancock tower, the Vdara Hotel death ray -- this may be the most costly.
After paintings worth hundreds of millions of dollars were swiped yesterday from the Rotterdam Kunsthal, security expert Ton Cremers said the building's design is to blame. The Dutch art museum was one of the first big projects of architect Rem Koolhaas, a Rotterdam native, and has been praised for its lightness and transparency. ArchDaily called the structure more of a cultural center than a museum -- one that allows "maximum flexibility."