An article in Architectural Record offers the first peek at the proposed new digs for the International UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico. Two separate Massachusetts design firms will be creating the look of the building and its exhibits. The exterior resembles a melty, 1950s SF cover ala Richard Powers, while the interior looks like the Necromonger’s overflow banquet hall from The Chronicles of Riddick.
According to the news story, the architect for the building learned that the Museum was looking for a new home while watching TV. He has already designed homes on Mars and an as-yet unbuilt Museum of Television in Idaho — its current one is in an abandoned motel — so this is definitely a good marriage.
We confess a certain fondness for the current UFO Museum’s pegboard and hubcap-flying-saucer ambiance. But too many people who’ve seen too much CGI on the Sci-Fi Channel are visiting the museum. It has to get slicker (and larger). $15 million is being raised for its reconstruction, and hopes are to break ground early next year.