OMA to design expansion for the new museum in new york

the new museum — manhattan’s only dedicated contemporary art museum — has selected OMA to expand its existing building on the bowery, completed by SANAA in 2007. the project will involve the design of a new building on the adjacent property at 231 bowery that the museum purchased in 2008. doubling the museum’s footprint, the expansion will provide an additional 50,000 square feet for galleries, improved public circulation, and flexible space. marking OMA’s first public building in new york city, the design will be developed by shohei shigematsu, who leads OMA new york, alongside rem koolhaas. the project is scheduled to break ground in 2019.

the new building will replace the structure shown to the right of SANAA’s original building
image by dean kaufman

‘I am honored to be awarded this project in the city perhaps most central to OMA’s philosophy, and am thrilled to work with an institution that deeply values the practices of creative forward-thinkers,’ says shohei shigematsu. ‘as a japanese architect, I am very happy to engage in a unique dialogue with SANAA and build alongside one of their seminal works.’

‘I’m particularly excited that our first public building in new york city will be for the new museum, one of the most forward-thinking institutions for which I’ve always had a great affinity,’ continues rem koolhaas. ‘having collaborated with kazuyo sejima and ryue nishizawa on a number of projects in europe, it is a real honor to stand alongside their great work of architecture, one of my favorites in the city.’

OMA completed miami beach’s faena forum in 2016 / image © iwan baan
see more of the project on designboom here

‘OMA is a great choice for our next building,’ says lisa phillips, director of the new museum. ‘koolhaas has thought deeply about the identity and landscape of our city going back to his landmark book delirious new york, published in 1978, a year after the museum’s founding. though he is one of the world’s finest architects with a deeply civic and public spirit, this will be his first public building in new york city.’

OMA also revealed plans for its first residential tower in new york in 2016 / image by by-encore © OMA
see more of the project on designboom here

‘together, shigematsu and koolhaas have demonstrated a keen understanding of the institution, an exceptional ability to meet our specific program requirements, and a deep sensitivity to the existing museum building,’ adds massimiliano gioni, artistic director of the new museum. designs for the expansion will be presented at a later date.

OMA are currently working on a mixed-used building for boston’s seaport district / image by bloom © OMA
see more of the project on designboom here

the project adds to OMA’s expanding portfolio in north america having already completed part of a new cultural district in miami beach. the firm has also revealed plans for its first residential tower in new york, a mixed-used building for boston’s seaport district, and is currently developing a design for the albright-knox gallery expansion in buffalo, new york.

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