The New York Times recently spoke to Jhaelen Hernandez-Eli about his work as the Vice President of Capital Projects for NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A Harvard GSD alum and former Associate Principal at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Hernandez-Eli had previously worked in design and construction for the New York City Economic Development Corporation before joining the institution, where he is now responsible for a $2 billion capital improvements initiative that will prove to be one of the defining aspects of Director Max Hollein's tenure.
“The emphasis on environmental performance and dealing with the climate crisis is not separate and apart from the discussion around aesthetics,” Hernandez-Eli told NYT Art & Culture contributor Ted Loos last month. “I think that oftentimes those two things get divorced. You’re either focused on what a thing looks like or how a thing performs. Our argument here is that they’re not mutually exclusive, they’re merged.”
The six capital projects included in the plan are highlighted by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo's $500 million expansion of the Tang Wing, which will culminate in a new home for the museum's long-disbursed holdings of modern and contemporary art. WHY Architecture's $90 million redesign of the Rockefeller Wing (with Beyer Blinder Belle) is also mentioned as an example of his efforts to incorporate low-embodied carbon strategies into the Met's plans.
Jhaelen is also married to Hernandez-Eli Architecture's founder Juliet Hernandez-Eli.
His comments on sustainable approaches to renovations and the other tasks inherent to his role can be accessed here via the New York Times.
2 Comments
This is a powerful position. Architects who earn his favor will win highly prestigious commissions.
When the plaza in front of the place is named after David Koch, it gets hard to square the the Met's groovy rhetoric with anything meaningful.
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