The new ICA is the lastest museum version of the hit tune, “if you build it, they will come.” Bostonians have been waiting to fall in love with something architecturally new and exciting, (a population still recovering from earlier adventures in architecture that failed, like City Hall) so the ICA is awash with visitors. This “build it” phenom really began with the opening of the Guggenheim in Bilbao in 1997. Bilbaons were unprepared for their city to become a cultural pilgrimage site almost overnight. In the first year, 1.3 million people found their way to a slightly tarnished industrial town in Northern Spain, over 3 times the estimates. Since then the city has been transformed into a glammed up backdrop for that beguiling and overwhelming Gehry structure. (Philip Johnson once said he knew that the Bilbao Museum was the greatest contemporary building because you get teary when you go inside. My experience as well.)
The ICA, designed by Diller and Scofidio, does not have grandiose intentions, but it is a quiet gem with many qualities to commend and enjoy on repeated visits. And the work on display inside–unlike Bilbao–seems very well suited for the space. Thumbs up.