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The new face of MoMA

March 9th, 2006

Throughout its history, The Museum of Modern Art has used architecture as a vehicle for self-renewal and regeneration. The recently completed building project represents MoMA’s most extensive redefinition since its founding seventy-five years ago. The Museum combines new spaces with MoMA’s original architecture to dramatically enhance its dynamic collection of modern and contemporary art.
MoMA conducted an extensive worldwide search for an architect who would not simply add on to the Museum’s existing architecture, but would be able to transform MoMA’s various buildings and additions into a unified whole. Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi won the commission with a design that would, in his own words, “transform MoMA into a bold new museum while maintaining its historical, cultural, and social context.”

The 630,000-square-foot Museum has nearly twice the capacity of the former facility. The new six-story David and Peggy Rockefeller Building houses the main collection and temporary exhibition galleries. Taniguchi worked closely with curators to refine his concept into a design that would expertly accommodate the type and scale of works displayed. Spacious galleries for contemporary art are located on the second floor, with more intimately scaled galleries for the collection on the levels above. Expansive, skylit galleries for temporary exhibitions are located on the top floor. MoMA’s Film and Media program resumes in the two refurbished Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, located below the lobby level.
Masterworks of modern sculpture, seasonal plantings, and reflecting pools once again welcome visitors to the beloved Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, which Taniguchi identified as “perhaps the most distinctive single element of the Museum today.” The architect preserved Philip Johnson’s original 1953 design and re-established the garden’s southern terrace to create an elegant outdoor patio for The Modern, the Museum’s new fine-dining restaurant.

Entry Filed under: Art & Music