New Museum of Contemporary Art
New York, New York · 2007
Photo · Photo by Hisao Suzuki
A precedent for sculptural urban infill, utilizing shifted, stacked volumes wrapped in a continuous expanded metal mesh skin to create a luminous, monolithic presence.
- What we like about this project
- The seamless wrapping of the metal mesh makes the joints between the shifted boxes appear razor-sharp.
Materials
- expanded-metal-mesh
- aluminum
- glass
Visual identifiers
- stacked-boxes
- shifted-volumes
- expanded-metal-mesh
- monolithic-white-facade
Style tags
- minimalist
- contemporary
- sculptural
Visual tags
- museum
- contemporary-art-gallery
- urban-infill
- sculptural-massing
- translucent-skin
- Geometry
- A series of stacked, rectangular boxes shifted off-axis vertically, creating a stepped, dynamic massing that tapers as it rises.
- Facade system
- Expanded aluminum mesh rainscreen over a solid wall assembly.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with cantilevered trusses to support the shifted box offsets.
- Spatial scale
- Multi-story institutional scale, rising significantly above its immediate low-to-mid-rise neighbors.
- Lighting
- Overcast, diffused daylight that softens the metallic texture and minimizes harsh shadows, emphasizing the volume's monolithic quality.
- Atmosphere
- A quiet, ethereal metallic tower standing out against a moody, overcast urban sky.
- Environmental context
- Dense urban context, flanked by traditional brick and masonry multi-story loft buildings.
- Spatial experience
- The building reads as a shifting, monolithic sculpture that contrasts sharply with the rigid, historic street wall of the surrounding neighborhood.
- Composition rhythm
- An asymmetrical, staggered vertical rhythm created by the shifting offsets of each stacked box.
- Style reading
- Minimalist contemporary sculpturalism
- Program
- Contemporary art museum
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- expanded-metal-mesh, aluminum, glass
- Visual identifiers
- stacked-boxes, shifted-volumes, expanded-metal-mesh, monolithic-white-facade
- Style tags
- minimalist, contemporary, sculptural
- Visual tags
- museum, contemporary-art-gallery, urban-infill, sculptural-massing, translucent-skin
- Geometry
- A series of stacked, rectangular boxes shifted off-axis vertically, creating a stepped, dynamic massing that tapers as it rises.
- Facade system
- Expanded aluminum mesh rainscreen over a solid wall assembly.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with cantilevered trusses to support the shifted box offsets.
- Spatial scale
- Multi-story institutional scale, rising significantly above its immediate low-to-mid-rise neighbors.
- Lighting
- Overcast, diffused daylight that softens the metallic texture and minimizes harsh shadows, emphasizing the volume's monolithic quality.
- Atmosphere
- A quiet, ethereal metallic tower standing out against a moody, overcast urban sky.
- Environmental context
- Dense urban context, flanked by traditional brick and masonry multi-story loft buildings.
- Spatial experience
- The building reads as a shifting, monolithic sculpture that contrasts sharply with the rigid, historic street wall of the surrounding neighborhood.
- Composition rhythm
- An asymmetrical, staggered vertical rhythm created by the shifting offsets of each stacked box.
- Style reading
- Minimalist contemporary sculpturalism
- Program
- Contemporary art museum
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture