NEUE GALERIE ADDITION
2nd Year Studio,Design Competition
5TH AVE. & 86TH STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
A competition was staged, sponsored by the National Concrete Masonry Association, for all the students in my year to design an addition to the aging Neue Galerie in New York City. Students were tasked with embracing the possibilities of CMU in their designs.
As Ronald Lauder’s collection of 20th-century German and Austrian art outgrows its home in the Neue Galerie, some of the collections are to be migrated to the adjacent property.
In the addition that I have designed, issues that plagued the neighboring building have been solved: small gallery rooms of the former mansion make way to larger, flexible gallery spaces and the dim interiors of the early 19th-century mansion are rectified by the illuminated lightwell and atrium that lights much of the interior.
The monolithic structural components become a frame to the artful, flowing walls lining the lightwell’s perimeter. The walls of the very rooms dedicated to exhibiting art have become art themselves.
(View from Lobby to Light-Well and Glass-floored Cafe Patio)
Fine and Applied Arts galleries orbit around the central Light-Well, relying on the stream of natural sunlight through the striking parametric walls. The lighting and spirit of the galleries change in tune with nature, creating an array of experiences for museum-goers throughout the day.
On the higher levels, administrative offices and an authentic Austrian cafe occupy the periphery of the Light-Well while the glass ceiling above the atrium becomes an open-air patio to the cafe. The occupied rooftop offers views to Central Park and The Met across 5th Avenue.
The addition is capable of hosting events with the auditorium in the basement.
(View of Glass-floored Cafe Patio into Lobby Atrium)
1st Subfloor
Ground Floor
2nd Floor
3rd Floor
4th Floor
1st Floor
Longitudinal Section