Studio Gang-led expansion of American Museum of Natural History is moving forward

2017-08-15T13:34:00-04:00

The proposed building will contain exhibition space on the ground floor and second floor, classrooms between the second and third floor, a theater on the third floor and offices between the fourth and sixth floors. There will also be an event space on the second floor and an aquarium room on the fifth floor.

The proposed $325 million six-story expansion won the Landmarks Commission’s approval in October 2016. Designed by Studio Gang, the building will be located along Columbus Avenue on the museum’s rear grounds near West 79th Street. The majority of the 218,000-square-foot Gilder Center will be carved out of the museum’s existing footprint to minimize encroachment on the adjacent Theodore Roosevelt Park.

Image courtesy of Studio Gang

Contrasting the museum’s dominant brick-and-mortar facades, the new wing will be constructed from curvilinear stone and glass.

Image courtesy of Studio Gang

The construction on the building is set to be complete by 2020.

A peek at Jeanne Gang's Flintstones-esque addition to the Museum of Natural History

2015-11-05T13:15:00-05:00

The design consumes less coveted park space than expected, while introducing a contemporary aesthetic that evokes Frank Gehry’s museum in Bilbao, Spain, in its undulating exterior and Turkey’s underground city of Cappadocia in its cavelike interior. [...] Ms. Gang said she was looking to conjure spaces that have been created by forces of nature, such as “geological canyons, glacial forms,” and to foster a sense of connectivity and discovery.

Studio Gang's plans for the Gilder Center addition were approved by the Museum's board this past Wednesday, but have yet to undergo the public approval process. If everything continues on-schedule, the addition will open by 2020.

According to a press release issued by the Museum:

The conceptual design for the Gilder Center is consistent with longstanding but previously unrealized aspects of the Museum’s 1872 master plan, while reflecting a contemporary architectural approach that is responsive to the Museum’s mission and to the current uses and character of the surrounding Theodore Roosevelt Park and neighborhood.

Previously on Archinect:

American Museum of Natural History Plans an Addition by Studio Gang

Archinect - News

Studio Gang-led expansion of American Museum of Natural History is moving forward

A peek at Jeanne Gang's Flintstones-esque addition to the Museum of Natural History