The New Museum of Contemporary Art

The New Museum of Contemporary Art

New York, NY
The New Museum for Contemporary Art is New York’s only museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art. In the fall of 2005, The New Museum broke ground on a new $35 Million, 60,000 square foot home at the intersection of the Bowery and Prince Street. The building was designed by Tokyo-based architects SANAA, along with the New York office of Gensler. It is comprised of seven floors, each of which is represented as a distinct rectangular box. These are stacked in an off-axis composition, allowing for variety in the size and proportions of each floor, and creating setbacks to be used as open-air terraces and for skylights to illuminate the galleries below. There are three main gallery floors, a floor of offices, and a ground floor café and bookstore, as well as a basement level 200-seat theater and a media lounge. A Penthouse level gathering space has wraparound terraces with views in all directions. Smaller galleries are tucked away throughout the museum. The building is enclosed in opaque zinc finished galvanized steel, used as a light reflective, nearly glass-like skin. Stuart-Lynn Company worked with SANAA and the Museum from the earliest stages as cost estimators on the project.

Size: 60,000 sf
Completion: 2007
Architect: SANAA, Gensler New York Engineer: Arup, Guy Nordenson and Associates