Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, 2003. Photo: © Richard Barnes.
"Site as Sculpture: Robert Irwin and Dia:Beacon" with landscape architect Naomi Sachs
Saturday, March 17, 2012, 12 pm–1 pm 
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Event Information
This is an outdoor tour; visitors are advised to dress weather-ready.
Reservations not required.
About the Tour
Naomi Sachs, landscape architect, will discuss artist Robert Irwin's vision and process in transforming the former Nabisco box-printing factory's site and building into a world-class art museum. Visitors are welcome to view original and reproduced ephemera of the original building and Robert Irwin’s designs in the back room of the bookshop.
In 1998, the Dia Foundation commissioned artist Robert Irwin to design the old Nabisco box printing factory that would become Dia:Beacon. Upon seeing the space, Irwin’s primary reaction and self-directive was “Don’t screw it up.” Considering the site as an environmental installation, Irwin integrated many of his previous explorations of light, space, perception, and building and landscape as sculpture in an entirely site-specific response. His design goal was to treat the site as a whole experience that begins as soon as one crosses the property line and continues both indoors and out as one moves through each space. Irwin has created a museum setting that celebrates its artists, the Dia Art Foundation, and the building’s industrial history, all rooted in the verdant Hudson Valley; his original intention has been thoughtfully, subtly, and beautifully realized.
In 1998, the Dia Foundation commissioned artist Robert Irwin to design the old Nabisco box printing factory that would become Dia:Beacon. Upon seeing the space, Irwin’s primary reaction and self-directive was “Don’t screw it up.” Considering the site as an environmental installation, Irwin integrated many of his previous explorations of light, space, perception, and building and landscape as sculpture in an entirely site-specific response. His design goal was to treat the site as a whole experience that begins as soon as one crosses the property line and continues both indoors and out as one moves through each space. Irwin has created a museum setting that celebrates its artists, the Dia Art Foundation, and the building’s industrial history, all rooted in the verdant Hudson Valley; his original intention has been thoughtfully, subtly, and beautifully realized.
About the Guide
Naomi Sachs, ASLA, is Founding Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network and Principal at Naomi Sachs Design. Her design and research work focuses on landscapes that promote health and well-being, and which maintain a record of their historical past. Naomi is currently co-authoring a book with Clare Cooper Marcus on therapeutic landscapes. She has worked as a museum guide at Dia:Beacon since 2007.
