New Musem building expansion by OMA in New York City – Al visuals are courtesy of New Museum.
Architecture. “The New Museum was founded in 1977 to become a creative hub for a different writing of art history, really addressing a canon which has largely been white and male.” Explains Lisa Phillips, Toby Lewan Lewis’ Director at New Museum. “New art, new ideas. Our mission is to give voice to female artists, queer artists, artists of colour, and more,” says Regan Grusy, Laura Skoler’s Deputy Director. “We are looking forward to this expansion that stays close to our ethos, our DNA, and the beauty of an institution that is still unconventional today,” adds Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson’s Artistic Director.
This year, the New Museum will open a new 60,000-square-foot, seven-story building designed by OMA‘s Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas with Cooper Robertson. The expansion will provide new spaces for artist residencies and public events at the intersection of Bowery and Prince Street. Additionally, it will include a larger lobby, an upgraded bookstore, and a new upper-level forum for educational and community programs linked to the existing Sky Room, an artist studio, and an eighty-seat venue restaurant.
OMA’s new angular volume also creates space for a new public plaza open to the city, which was designed to accommodate art installations, performances, and community gatherings.
The new building will improve vertical circulation for visitors by adding an atrium stairway. This will offer views of the surrounding neighbourhood and the opportunity for innovative art installations. The addition will also establish a permanent home for NEW INC, the museum’s cultural incubator.
The façade, constructed from laminated glass featuring metal mesh, will create a cohesive and straightforward exterior next to the SANAA building. This design harnesses materials that evoke and enhance the original façade, all while promoting greater transparency.
In 2007, the New Museum opened its flagship building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA/ Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. The existing structure consists of a series of boxes of various sizes stacked and placed off-axis with respect to one another. The volumes generate terraces and skylights, bringing natural light into the exhibition halls.
All photos are courtesy of New Museum.
