Accidental yet transformative: site-specificity of the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern

There are similarities between the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern (2000) by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, and the Central Nave of Musée d’Orsay (1986) by Pierre Colboc, Renaud Bardon and Jean-Paul Philippon. Both came into being through the conversion of defunct industrial and infrastructural facilities. Their scales are also similar to each other, as the Turbine Hall measures approximately 152 metres long, 22 metres wide and 35 metres high and the Central Nave of Musée d’Orsay, 138 metres long, 40 metres wide and 32 metres high.