SANAA - New Museum of Contemporary Art NY:: arcspace.com

SANAA
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa
New Museum of Contemporary Art
New York, New York

"We have tried to design a transparent building in the sense that we are not hiding what is happening behind the surface of the structure."
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa

Completed New Museum December 2007 arcspace feature

The New Museum, the first major art museum to be constructed in downtown Manhattan in the city's modern history, will be located on the Bowery on what is now an 8,000 square foot parking lot.

Photo courtesy the New Museum of Contemporary Art

Scheduled to break ground in October 2004 the seven-story composition - a stack of rectangular boxes shifted off axis in different directions, clad in silvery galvanized, zinc-plated steel, and punctuated by skylights and windows offering vistas and vignettes of the city - doubles the size of the New Museum's current facilities on Broadway in SoHo.

Photo courtesy the New Museum of Contemporary Art

In addition to dramatically expanded, flexible, and column-free exhibition space, the Bowery building will offer an innovative new media center, a black-box theater/auditorium, bookstore, expanded classrooms, library and study center, café, and wrap-around rooftop terraces.

Photo courtesy the New Museum of Contemporary Art
At night, the building's metallic exterior will be washed with artificial lighting from within.

Summarizing their approach to the design for the New Museum of Contemporary Art, SANAA has said: "The solution emerged through an extensive period of trial and error. We made numerous study models based upon the New Museum's program and the demands of the site, the zoning envelope. First we arrived at the notion of the boxes themselves; each one represents a specific piece of the program developed by the Museum. Then we tried shifting the boxes to render the inside of the building more accommodating and open, with more possibilities for daylight to enter spaces and views to appear at various points in the interiors.

We designed the building from the inside out, based upon our understanding of the Museum's needs. Because of the kind of art the Museum shows and the curatorial approach they take, we wanted to design simple spaces - spaces without columns and with a lot of possibilities for different configurations, for placement of temporary dividing walls, and so forth - that would provide the widest range of options. We do not believe that a building should overwhelm or compete with the art presented within it, particularly when it comes to contemporary art. So we have tried to make spaces that are inviting but straightforward."

Total area: 60,000 square feet

Estimated completion: Spring 2006.

Architects: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa SANAA LTD.
Associate architects: Guggenheimer Architects, New York
Project architect: Florian Idenburg
Structural engineer: Guy Nordenson

Founded in 1977, the New Museum is the leading contemporary art museum in New York City and among the most respected internationally, with a curatorial program unrivaled in the United States in its global scope and adventurousness. The Museum's Media Lounge, launched in November 2000, is the only museum space in New York City devoted to presenting digital art and experimental video from around the world.

"In keeping with the New Museum's mission and spirit, we have chosen a younger firm that, while not yet well known in the United States, is quite established in the design and construction of outstanding public facilities and experienced in addressing urban settings."
Saul Dennison
President of the Board of Trustees

Photo courtesy SANAA
Architects Kazuyo Sejima (right) and Ryue Nishizawa

The Architects Kazuyo Sejima, 47, and Ryue Nishizawa, 37, have received accolades internationally for work that is luminous and minimal in its aesthetics; sophisticated in its treatment of complex building detail and fluid, non-hierarchical space; and highly original in its use of exterior facades as permeable membranes that establish subtle but provocative relationships between interior and exterior, individual and community, and the realms of public and private experience.

The architects have worked collaboratively in the partnership of SANAA Ltd. since 1995. Sejima studied architecture at the Japan Women's University before going to work for the celebrated architect Toyo Ito. She launched her own practice in 1987 and was named Young Architect of the Year in Japan in 1992. Nishizawa studied architecture at Yokohama National University and, in addition to his work with Sejima, has maintained an independent practice since 1997.

In Japan, the firm has completed numerous critically acclaimed commercial and institutional buildings, community centers, homes and museums. Among these are two jewel-like private museum buildings - the O Museum in Nagano (1999) and the N Museum in Wakayama (1997), and the Day-Care Center in Yokohama (2000).

Photo: Jin Hosova
O - Museum (1995/1999)
Lida, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Sejima also designed the celebrated Small House in Tokyo (2000). SANAA Ltd. is currently building the Contemporary Art Museum in Kanazawa, Japan, and an addition to the Valencia Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) in Spain.

December 1, 2003

SANAA arcspace features





				Features
		SANAA Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa New Museum of Contemporary Art New York, New York "We have tried to design a transparent building in the sense that we are not hiding what is happening behind the surface of the structure." Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa Completed New Museum December 2007 arcspace feature The New Museum, the first major art museum to be constructed in downtown Manhattan in the city's modern history, will be located on the Bowery on what is now an 8,000 square foot parking lot. Photo courtesy the New Museum of Contemporary Art Scheduled to break ground in October 2004 the seven-story composition - a stack of rectangular boxes shifted off axis in different directions, clad in silvery galvanized, zinc-plated steel, and punctuated by skylights and windows offering vistas and vignettes of the city - doubles the size of the New Museum's current facilities on Broadway in SoHo. Photo courtesy the New Museum of Contemporary Art In addition to dramatically expanded, flexible, and column-free exhibition space, the Bowery building will offer an innovative new media center, a black-box theater/auditorium, bookstore, expanded classrooms, library and study center, café, and wrap-around rooftop terraces. Photo courtesy the New Museum of Contemporary Art At night, the building's metallic exterior will be washed with artificial lighting from within. Summarizing their approach to the design for the New Museum of Contemporary Art, SANAA has said: "The solution emerged through an extensive period of trial and error. We made numerous study models based upon the New Museum's program and the demands of the site, the zoning envelope. First we arrived at the notion of the boxes themselves; each one represents a specific piece of the program developed by the Museum. Then we tried shifting the boxes to render the inside of the building more accommodating and open, with more possibilities for daylight to enter spaces and views to appear at various points in the interiors. We designed the building from the inside out, based upon our understanding of the Museum's needs. Because of the kind of art the Museum shows and the curatorial approach they take, we wanted to design simple spaces - spaces without columns and with a lot of possibilities for different configurations, for placement of temporary dividing walls, and so forth - that would provide the widest range of options. We do not believe that a building should overwhelm or compete with the art presented within it, particularly when it comes to contemporary art. So we have tried to make spaces that are inviting but straightforward." Total area: 60,000 square feet Estimated completion: Spring 2006. Architects: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa SANAA LTD. Associate architects: Guggenheimer Architects, New York Project architect: Florian Idenburg Structural engineer: Guy Nordenson Founded in 1977, the New Museum is the leading contemporary art museum in New York City and among the most respected internationally, with a curatorial program unrivaled in the United States in its global scope and adventurousness. The Museum's Media Lounge, launched in November 2000, is the only museum space in New York City devoted to presenting digital art and experimental video from around the world. "In keeping with the New Museum's mission and spirit, we have chosen a younger firm that, while not yet well known in the United States, is quite established in the design and construction of outstanding public facilities and experienced in addressing urban settings." Saul Dennison President of the Board of Trustees Photo courtesy SANAA Architects Kazuyo Sejima (right) and Ryue Nishizawa The Architects Kazuyo Sejima, 47, and Ryue Nishizawa, 37, have received accolades internationally for work that is luminous and minimal in its aesthetics; sophisticated in its treatment of complex building detail and fluid, non-hierarchical space; and highly original in its use of exterior facades as permeable membranes that establish subtle but provocative relationships between interior and exterior, individual and community, and the realms of public and private experience. The architects have worked collaboratively in the partnership of SANAA Ltd. since 1995. Sejima studied architecture at the Japan Women's University before going to work for the celebrated architect Toyo Ito. She launched her own practice in 1987 and was named Young Architect of the Year in Japan in 1992. Nishizawa studied architecture at Yokohama National University and, in addition to his work with Sejima, has maintained an independent practice since 1997. In Japan, the firm has completed numerous critically acclaimed commercial and institutional buildings, community centers, homes and museums. Among these are two jewel-like private museum buildings - the O Museum in Nagano (1999) and the N Museum in Wakayama (1997), and the Day-Care Center in Yokohama (2000). Photo: Jin Hosova O - Museum (1995/1999) Lida, Nagano Prefecture, Japan Sejima also designed the celebrated Small House in Tokyo (2000). SANAA Ltd. is currently building the Contemporary Art Museum in Kanazawa, Japan, and an addition to the Valencia Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) in Spain. December 1, 2003 SANAA arcspace features