Studio Gang's American Museum of Natural History extension breaks ground after delay caused by lawsuit
by Andy Knaggs | 12 Jun 2019
– Jeanne Gang
Construction of the new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York has begun, following delays caused by a lawsuit brought by a community group.
The hotly anticipated new wing of the museum – a projected US$383m (€338m, £301m), 230,000sq ft (70,104sq m) project – has been designed by Studio Gang Architects, with the intention of improving visitor circulation to better accommodate the museum's rising annual attendance, which is now around five million.
The design connects existing galleries within the museum and provides it with its first street-level entrance, while also minimising impact on the adjacent Theodore Roosevelt Park – a foremost concern for members of the local community.
A central exhibition hall will form a continuous, flowing experience, with visitors moving beneath and across connecting bridges and along sculpted walls, with openings that reveal the museum's many programmes. Creative tools will enable visitors to gain a deeper understanding of how science is conducted today.
Inside the Gilder Center will have a five-storey Collections Core housing millions of specimens and artifacts from the museum's collection, together with an Insectarium, a Butterfly Vivarium that is double the space of the existing butterfly conservatory, and the Invisible Worlds Immersive Theater, showcasing cutting-edge scientific technologies.
Studio Gang founder Jeanne Gang commented: "We uncovered a way to vastly improve visitor circulation and museum functionality, while tapping into the desire for exploration and discovery that is so emblematic of science and also such a big part of being human.
"Upon entering the space, natural daylight from above and sightlines to various activities inside invite movement through the Central Exhibition Hall on a journey toward deeper understanding."
The building was originally set to open in 2020, but an updated completion date has not yet been announced.
You can read CLAD's interview with Jeanne Gang here.
Richard Gilder Center for Science Education and Innovation American Museum of Natural History Studio Gang Studio Gang Architects Jeanne Gang
The new entrance is the museum's first such universally accessible entrance at street level Credit: Studio Gang
A vast skylight from above will brighten the central exhibition hall with its undulating arches of reinforced concrete Credit: Studio Gang
A cutaway view of the different areas the new museum will have Credit: Studio Gang
03 May 2017
Jeanne Gang reveals how design must strengthen communities in exclusive CLAD interview
13 Jan 2017
American Museum of Natural History reveals details of US$430m expansion
Construction of the new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York has begun, following delays caused by a lawsuit brought by a community group. The hotly anticipated new wing of the museum – a projected US$383m (€338m, £301m), 230,000sq ft (70,104sq m) project – has been designed by Studio Gang Architects, with the intention of improving visitor circulation to
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