Polshek Partnership Architects - Entry Pavilion and Plaza

Opening
Polshek Partnership Architects
Entry Pavilion and Plaza
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Brooklyn, New York

The sheer-glass pavilion provides a dramatic architectural connection between the interior of the building and the exterior surroundings.

Photo: © Brooklyn Museum of Art/Polshek Partnership Architects

The Brooklyn Museum of Art, home to the second largest art collection in the United States, will open its dramatically redesigned and renovated Front Entrance and new public Plaza on Saturday, April 17th.

Using the 19th-century Beaux-Arts facade as a backdrop, a multi-story sheer-glass entrance pavilion provides a dramatic architectural connection between the interior of the building and the exterior surroundings.
This transparency brings natural light into the formerly dark interior and permits visual access to the Grand Lobby from the front entrance, as well as from the new parking lot entrance that was completed in 2001 as the first stage of this project.

Model photo: © Jock Pottle/Esto

An elevated promenade, above the new entrance pavilion, will provide inviting interior views as well as a sweeping overview of the plaza and the surrounding neighborhood. A staircase leads to the promenade, which is constructed in part of specially made aluminum panels. Above it, the pre-existing third floor portico has been expanded and repaved with limestone slabs that match the original facade.

The new 15,000 square feet shingled-glass pavilion, recalling the staircase of the original McKim, Mead & White entrance, combined with the renovated lobby area of nearly 9,000 square feet, creates a new entrance facility, comprising close to 25,000 square feet. It more than doubles the size of the previous lobby area.

Photo: © Brooklyn Museum of Art/Polshek Partnership Architects

The brick support piers that once housed the five front doors have been restored, and left permanently exposed, showing the foundations of the institution both structurally and symbolically.

Photo: © Brooklyn Museum of Art/Polshek Partnership Architects

The front plaza area, comprised of more than 80,000 square feet, will include a front stoop which will provide multiple options for programming as well as various areas for informal gatherings.
The plaza will have computer-controlled fountains by WET Design, the firm that designed the famous fountains at the Los Angeles Music Center and the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, and 39 new cherry trees among other plantings.

Model photo: © Jock Pottle/Esto

More about the new addition to the Brooklyn Museum, including an Image Library folder, after the opening.

Total area: 34,000 square feet

Client: Brooklyn Museum of Art
Project Management Brooklyn Museum of Art
Office of Planning & Architecture
Construction Manager: Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc.

Polshek Partnership Architects
Structural: Robert Silman Associates
Mechanical: Jaros, Baum & Bolles

The landmark Brooklyn Museum building, which first opened to the public in 1897, was designed by McKim, Mead & White to be the largest museum in the world. However, following Brooklyn¹s annexation by New York City, only 562,000 square feet, representing one sixth of the original plan, was finished.

As a part of the 1986 Brooklyn Museum Master Plan, substantial interior renovations were made from 1991 to 1993 to the West Wing of the building (now the Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing), including the renovation of 30,000 square feet of gallery space and one floor of curatorial offices.
The 460-seat Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium and 30,000 square feet of up-to-date art storage were also created out of existing space. Recently the Museum completed an $18 million roof renovation project that included the replacement of the 5,000-square-foot skylight above the third-floor Beaux-Arts Court. The interior space was also entirely renovated and was recently installed with selections from the Museum¹s collection of European paintings.

The initial phase of this ambitious project also succeeded in restoring the entire Eastern Parkway façade of the building, including cleaning and re-pointing of all the limestone and granite, as well as restoration of the original decorative ironwork, the Daniel Chester French allegorical statues of Brooklyn and Manhattan that flank the entrance, and the thirty 19th-century statues on the Museum's cornice.

April 12, 2004

Polshek Partnership Architects arcspace features





				Features
		Opening Polshek Partnership Architects Entry Pavilion and Plaza Brooklyn Museum of Art Brooklyn, New York The sheer-glass pavilion provides a dramatic architectural connection between the interior of the building and the exterior surroundings. Photo: © Brooklyn Museum of Art/Polshek Partnership Architects The Brooklyn Museum of Art, home to the second largest art collection in the United States, will open its dramatically redesigned and renovated Front Entrance and new public Plaza on Saturday, April 17th. Using the 19th-century Beaux-Arts facade as a backdrop, a multi-story sheer-glass entrance pavilion provides a dramatic architectural connection between the interior of the building and the exterior surroundings. This transparency brings natural light into the formerly dark interior and permits visual access to the Grand Lobby from the front entrance, as well as from the new parking lot entrance that was completed in 2001 as the first stage of this project. Model photo: © Jock Pottle/Esto An elevated promenade, above the new entrance pavilion, will provide inviting interior views as well as a sweeping overview of the plaza and the surrounding neighborhood. A staircase leads to the promenade, which is constructed in part of specially made aluminum panels. Above it, the pre-existing third floor portico has been expanded and repaved with limestone slabs that match the original facade. The new 15,000 square feet shingled-glass pavilion, recalling the staircase of the original McKim, Mead & White entrance, combined with the renovated lobby area of nearly 9,000 square feet, creates a new entrance facility, comprising close to 25,000 square feet. It more than doubles the size of the previous lobby area. Photo: © Brooklyn Museum of Art/Polshek Partnership Architects The brick support piers that once housed the five front doors have been restored, and left permanently exposed, showing the foundations of the institution both structurally and symbolically. Photo: © Brooklyn Museum of Art/Polshek Partnership Architects The front plaza area, comprised of more than 80,000 square feet, will include a front stoop which will provide multiple options for programming as well as various areas for informal gatherings. The plaza will have computer-controlled fountains by WET Design, the firm that designed the famous fountains at the Los Angeles Music Center and the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, and 39 new cherry trees among other plantings. Model photo: © Jock Pottle/Esto More about the new addition to the Brooklyn Museum, including an Image Library folder, after the opening. Total area: 34,000 square feet Client: Brooklyn Museum of Art Project Management Brooklyn Museum of Art Office of Planning & Architecture Construction Manager: Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc. Polshek Partnership Architects Structural: Robert Silman Associates Mechanical: Jaros, Baum & Bolles The landmark Brooklyn Museum building, which first opened to the public in 1897, was designed by McKim, Mead & White to be the largest museum in the world. However, following Brooklyn¹s annexation by New York City, only 562,000 square feet, representing one sixth of the original plan, was finished. As a part of the 1986 Brooklyn Museum Master Plan, substantial interior renovations were made from 1991 to 1993 to the West Wing of the building (now the Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing), including the renovation of 30,000 square feet of gallery space and one floor of curatorial offices. The 460-seat Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium and 30,000 square feet of up-to-date art storage were also created out of existing space. Recently the Museum completed an $18 million roof renovation project that included the replacement of the 5,000-square-foot skylight above the third-floor Beaux-Arts Court. The interior space was also entirely renovated and was recently installed with selections from the Museum¹s collection of European paintings. The initial phase of this ambitious project also succeeded in restoring the entire Eastern Parkway façade of the building, including cleaning and re-pointing of all the limestone and granite, as well as restoration of the original decorative ironwork, the Daniel Chester French allegorical statues of Brooklyn and Manhattan that flank the entrance, and the thirty 19th-century statues on the Museum's cornice. April 12, 2004 Polshek Partnership Architects arcspace features