Architect Statement
January 2014
The Museum of Modern Art has undergone several sweeping expansions since its founding in 1929. By contrast, we are in the planning stages of perhaps MoMA's most restrained and surgical transformation, yet one that represents a significant shift in the priorities of the institution.
Our work has been guided by several aspirations to make MoMA an even better museum. We believe the expansion should provide high-quality exhibition space that allows more of MoMA's greatest asset—its vast collection of modern and contemporary art—to be publicly accessible. The new exhibition spaces will enable the museum to move beyond the limitations of current medium-specific galleries and bring together works across disciplines, in keeping with contemporary artistic practices and evolving curatorial objectives. In addition, we want to create a better cultural interface with the city, bringing art closer to the street and allowing the museum to be more spontaneous, to improve visitor flow and enhance the museum experience for everyone.
The project’s complexity stems from the layered histories of the site and the necessary engagement with multiple new and existing buildings, the most sensitive being the former American Folk Art Museum building designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. Although MoMA had announced the building’s demolition before we became involved in the expansion, we actively challenged the decision and asked for six months of time to find a viable reuse alternative. MoMA agreed on two conditions: that we resolve the physical connection to 34,000 square feet of new galleries in the adjacent Hines tower, and that we utilize the Folk Art building for MoMA's program.
Providing the best adaptation of the AFAM while limiting the physical impact to the building was a great challenge. The 40-foot-wide Folk Art building was conceived as a winding display with five different stairwells, multistory vertical voids, and partial floor plates totaling only 3,500 net square feet of single-height space above grade. We tried to preserve these character-defining features, but our various reuse schemes did not include enough usable surface area for new educational and curatorial programs—one of MoMA’s key conditions. In order to address this deficiency, the AFAM had to lose the central grand stair and skylight, which anchor the AFAM’s organization and its distinguishing stairs, voids, and customized details. Additionally, to accommodate basic circulation links to the Hines tower, the facade would have to be entirely dismounted and reattached to a new steel armature. In the end, after six months of lengthy and rigorous work, we could not fulfill the museum’s requirement for a functional use of the AFAM without depriving the building of its architectural identity.
As strong advocates of adaptive reuse, our studio has successfully realigned rich pieces of New York's built history with new programming and audiences, extending the relevance of both the High Line and large parts of Lincoln Center. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to save the AFAM, we could not find a way to repurpose its very small and idiosyncratic spaces to meet the demands of the shifting program around it. While we were ultimately unable to reverse MoMA’s original decision to demolish the building, we are confident our study left no stone unturned and that it was carried out with the creative determination that such an important task deserves.
We presented our efforts for adaptive reuse of the AFAM building in greater detail at a forum co-hosted by the Architectural League, AIA, and Municipal Arts Society at the New York Society for Ethical Culture on January 28. A video of that discussion is available here.
We remain committed to the larger goal of improving MoMA for everyone. The overall plan will expand collections and temporary galleries on MoMA's second, fourth, and fifth floors and outfit them with state-of-the-art capabilities in all media. On the site of the former AFAM building, flexible spaces will serve new programming. This includes a street-level gallery devoted to experimental artwork, similar to MoMA’s former ground-floor Projects Gallery. This space can be used for exhibitions and performances as well as improvised events.
Finally, changes to the ground floor will make the museum less congested and more welcoming: a new circulation network will knit together the expansion spaces with the existing main lobby, the Lauder lobby, the Titus film theaters, and The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden to create a contiguous, free public realm that bridges street to street and art to the city.
Architect StatementJanuary 2014The Museum of Modern Art has undergone several sweeping expansions since its founding in 1929. By contrast, we are in the planning stages of perhaps MoMA's most restrained and surgical transformation, yet one that represents a significant shift in the priorities of the institution.Our work has been guided by several aspirations to make MoMA an even better museum. We believe the expansion should provide high-quality exhibition space that allows more of MoMA's greatest asset—its vast collection of modern and contemporary art—to be publicly accessible. The new exhibition spaces will enable the museum to move beyond the limitations of current medium-specific galleries and bring together works across disciplines, in keeping with contemporary artistic practices and evolving curatorial objectives. In addition, we want to create a better cultural interface with the city, bringing art closer to the street and allowing the museum to be more spontaneous, to improve visitor flow and enhance the museum experience for everyone.The project’s complexity stems from the layered histories of the site and the necessary engagement with multiple new and existing buildings, the most sensitive being the former American Folk Art Museum building designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. Although MoMA had announced the building’s demolition before we became involved in the expansion, we actively challenged the decision and asked for six months of time to find a viable reuse alternative. MoMA agreed on two conditions: that we resolve the physical connection to 34,000 square feet of new galleries in the adjacent Hines tower, and that we utilize the Folk Art building for MoMA's program.ให้ปรับตัวที่ดีที่สุดของ AFAM ในขณะที่ผลกระทบทางกายภาพอาคารจำกัดเป็นสิ่งที่ท้าทายมาก อาคาร 40 เท้าทั้งศิลปะพื้นบ้านถูกรู้สึกเป็นจอม้วน กับห้าต่างบันได voids multistory แนวตั้ง แผ่นพื้นบางส่วนรวม 3500 เท่าสุทธิตารางฟุตของพื้นที่เดียวความสูงเหนือระดับ เราพยายามรักษาคุณลักษณะกำหนดอักขระเหล่านี้ แต่ร่างของเรานำต่าง ๆ ไม่มีพื้นที่พอใช้สำหรับศึกษา และภัณฑารักษ์โปรแกรมใหม่ซึ่งเงื่อนไขสำคัญของ MoMA อย่างใดอย่างหนึ่ง การขาดนี้ AFAM ที่ได้สูญเสียบันไดแกรนด์เซ็นทรัลและสกายไลท์ ซึ่งยึด AFAM ขององค์กร และความแตกต่างบันได voids และรายละเอียดที่กำหนดเอง นอกจากนี้ เพื่อรองรับการหมุนเวียนพื้นฐานเชื่อมโยงไปยังหอวอนไฮนส์ ให้จะได้ทั้งดัง และต่อไปกระดองเหล็กใหม่ ในสุด หลังจาก 6 เดือนของการทำงานที่ยาวนาน และเข้มงวด เราไม่ใบของพิพิธภัณฑ์ความต้องการใช้งานของ AFAM ที่ โดย depriving การสร้างเอกลักษณ์ทางสถาปัตยกรรมAs strong advocates of adaptive reuse, our studio has successfully realigned rich pieces of New York's built history with new programming and audiences, extending the relevance of both the High Line and large parts of Lincoln Center. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to save the AFAM, we could not find a way to repurpose its very small and idiosyncratic spaces to meet the demands of the shifting program around it. While we were ultimately unable to reverse MoMA’s original decision to demolish the building, we are confident our study left no stone unturned and that it was carried out with the creative determination that such an important task deserves.We presented our efforts for adaptive reuse of the AFAM building in greater detail at a forum co-hosted by the Architectural League, AIA, and Municipal Arts Society at the New York Society for Ethical Culture on January 28. A video of that discussion is available here.We remain committed to the larger goal of improving MoMA for everyone. The overall plan will expand collections and temporary galleries on MoMA's second, fourth, and fifth floors and outfit them with state-of-the-art capabilities in all media. On the site of the former AFAM building, flexible spaces will serve new programming. This includes a street-level gallery devoted to experimental artwork, similar to MoMA’s former ground-floor Projects Gallery. This space can be used for exhibitions and performances as well as improvised events.Finally, changes to the ground floor will make the museum less congested and more welcoming: a new circulation network will knit together the expansion spaces with the existing main lobby, the Lauder lobby, the Titus film theaters, and The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden to create a contiguous, free public realm that bridges street to street and art to the city.
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