After nearly a half century of operating in inadequate spaces, Harlem's Studio Museum is finally investing in a ground-up facility of its own. The Times reports that the museum, in a public-private partnership with the city, will construct a $122 million facility designed by architect David Adjaye at the site of its current space on West 125th Street. The plans for the five-story, 71,000-square-foot museum will be presented to the city's public design commission on July 14, and include a glass-fronted lobby with a "reverse stoop" of bleacher-like seating as well as a cafe, educational and studio space, and a free rooftop space.
The museum is currently housed in a 1914-built building near Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard which has undergone a handful of renovations since the museum moved in from its Fifth Avenue location in 1982. The space is so inadequate that its configuration requires the institution to close when new exhibits are moving in. That would never be allowed to happen at the city's major cultural destinations; the expansion very much symbolizes a step forward towards that competitive realm for the museum.
The city will contribute $33.5 million to the new museum and the Ford Foundation has donated $3 million. Construction is expected to start in 2017 and wrap up around 2019.
· Studio Museum in Harlem Unveils Design for Expansion [NYT]
· Studio Museum [official]
Loading comments...