New Museum Turns Away From Starchitecture

"Instead of a sharp-edged stack of concrete and glass, it's a low pavilion with a landscaped roof. The pavilion burrows into the earth and includes a public thruway, rather than rising up, as its predecessor did, to demand attention within the historic heart of the army base turned national park.

What hasn't changed is the location: The Fisher family still seeks to place its contemporary art collection on a prominent site between 19th century red-brick barracks and the site of the original 1776 Spanish settlement. That's anathema to critics who, for reasons ranging from traffic to the non-Presidio focus, don't want the facility anywhere in the park.

But for anyone open to a cultural showplace within the park's Main Post, the new approach shows that compromise is possible. It's also a real step in the right direction - even if the architecture is too sketchy at this stage to say if the changes will add up to a design that deserves public support."