ART OF MUSEUMS

Creating an edifice draws on an almost mystical process of imagining and materializing something from nothing, of developing original thought forms and manifesting them in the physical environment. Considered one of the world’s foremost architects for churches and museums, Swiss-born Mario Botta provides a unique perspective on the creative process. Next week writer Debra Moffitt will present an interview with the master. (Pictured: his Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, Italy, photo by Pino Musi.)

MUSEUM OF CARS

With the bulging prow of its twin-ramp exoskeleton looming beside the fast lanes of Highway B14 in Stuttgart, Germany, the new Mercedes museum, designed by the Dutch firm UN Studio, lives up to the German automaker’s reputation for engineering. On entering, visitors ascend eight stories to the top then wend down through a collection of 160 vehicles carefully displayed over 178,000 square feet (16,500 square meters) of exhibition space. Next week writer Lisa Ashmore will continue the helical tour. (Photo by Christian Richters.)