The multi-phased transformation of the Museum of Modern Art reinforces its relationship with the New York landscape and presents a unified and revitalized vision for the preeminent international center for modern art.
Working as Executive Architect in collaboration with the Japanese architecture firm Taniguchi and Associates, KPF’s responsibilities included significant design development, preparation of all construction documents, and construction administration.
The design is tailored to the specific demands of the Museum’s unique collections while considering the context of the larger imperative. The completely revamped internal organization focuses on the centrality of MoMA’s renowned exhibits and allowed the Museum to greatly increase the size of its existing gallery space. Galleries are vertically organized around a central atrium space, each a separate museum within a museum. The floors are suspended beneath trusses on the eighth story, allowing the 15,000 square foot second floor gallery to be a single uninterrupted space, entirely free from columns.
Administrative, research, and educational facilities overlook the restored and renovated Sculpture Garden. The clean lines of the exterior facade incorporate and adapt to the original building designed by Goodwin and Stone in 1939, and the residential tower designed by Cesar Pelli in 1984. The result is an architectural collage that is reflective of MoMA’s crucial role in the ongoing definition of modernism.
