The New Museum in New York has expanded with a new building designed by OMA, effectively doubling its size to 11,148 square meters. The addition is not just a separate building, but an equal partner that complements the original museum.
Shohei Shigematsu, a New York-based partner of OMA, designed a pair of buildings that work together seamlessly. The new building responds to the original design by SANAA, which was completed in 2007 and had become an icon in Lower Manhattan.
The original building is composed of stacked off-kilter boxes and clad in expanded aluminum mesh. It was immediately accepted as an icon and helped anchor a renaissance of the area, with new condos, upscale shops, and boutique hotels moving in.
OMA’s intervention resolves issues while exhibiting surprising deference to its SANAA-designed partner. Inside, new and old floors are connected seamlessly, making it easy to lose track of which side you’re in.
The new building is shorter and deeper than the SANAA building and takes pains to reveal its neighbor. The facade of OMA’s building is constructed using glass laminated with metal mesh.
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Shigematsu says the design focuses on an interesting balance and a subtle relationship between the two buildings. The staircase solves the museum’s former circulation problems and captures views of the city as it rises.
Shigematsu says it’s a kind of collision space where users and the public can hang around, meet, and exchange. The museum’s expansion is a significant development.
As the museum continues to grow and evolve, its new addition is likely to play a key role in its success, providing more space for exhibitions and programming, and they will continue to make the most of it, considering factors like home design principles that prioritize community and public interaction.
It will be interesting to see how the expansion impacts the surrounding area, potentially leading to new foundation repair projects as older buildings are renovated to keep up with the changing setting.
