Berkeley Museum of Art Now Has to Figure Out How to Pay for New Building

Speaking of museums, financial issues, and building plans, as we have been all morning, perhaps the most uplifting story of the year that concerned all three involved the Berkeley Museum of Art and the Pacific Film Archives. After finding themselves too cash-strapped to afford a brand new building designed by hot shot architect Toyo Ito, the organization managed to remain undeterred, pressed forward, found themselves an already-built building, and hired Diller Scofido + Renfro to rehab it for them. Unfortunately, as positive as that story has played out thus far, the San Francisco Chronicle has dug into the finances behind the project and found that both UC Berkeley and the museum/archives themselves aren’t quite sure who is going to be giving them a chunk money needed to complete the project, which is somewhat troubling given that it was fundraising woes that killed off the original Toyo Ito building. Though both groups are confident they’ll find a way to get what they need, the whole situation seems very similar to what’s happening at Michigan State University, where they’re still trying to raise the last $6 million needed to finish off a museum designed by their own hot shot architect, Zaha Hadid.