Wexner Center for the Arts - A Building That Looks Unfinished

Photo: RightCowLeftCoast, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Ohio State University Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Is it still under construction? That is exactly what architect Peter Eisenman wanted you to wonder. He won a 1983 design competition for this arts center, beating finalists including Cesar Pelli and Michael Graves, and the building opened in 1989 as one of the best-known examples of deconstructivist architecture.

Look at the white metal grid that runs through the site like scaffolding. The campus grid and the Columbus street grid are offset by 12.25 degrees, and Eisenman's design shifts between the two. The chunky brick towers recall the castle-like Armory that stood here until 1958, broken apart as if sliced open.

Inside, the Wexner Center is a laboratory for contemporary art rather than a traditional museum, with changing exhibitions, films and performances. Gallery admission has been free since 2022, so step in if it is open. Also look for Groundswell, an installation of broken glass by Maya Lin, added in 1993.

Getting here: Walk east along the north side of the Oval to 15th Avenue and High Street; the white grid of the Wexner Center rises at the corner.

Did you know?: The center is named for the father of retail businessman Leslie H. Wexner, who pledged $25 million toward the $43 million project.

Photo op: From the plaza off 15th Avenue, line up the white scaffolding grid with one of the split brick towers behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Wexner Center for the Arts · Peter Eisenman · Maya Lin

Wexner Center for the Arts - A Building That Looks Unfinished

Stops on this tour