flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

David Adjaye unveils brownstone-inspired design for The Studio Museum in Harlem

Museums

David Adjaye unveils brownstone-inspired design for The Studio Museum in Harlem

In designing the five-story, 71,000-sf building, Adjaye took cues from the brownstones, churches, and bustling sidewalks of Harlem.


By BD+C Staff | July 9, 2015
David Adjaye, Africa, Art, Black, African American, Harlem, Studio Museum, New York City, Thelma Golden

Rendering courtesy Adjaye Associates

For decades, The Studio Museum in Harlem has nurtured up-and-coming artists of African descent and brought them to prominence. Museum director and chief curator Thelma Golden told The New York Times that the museum has “outgrown the space” it currently occupies.

“Our program and our audience require us to answer those demands,” she adds. Hence, the museum has commissioned British-Tanzanian architect David Adjaye to design its new home, slated to begin construction in 2017 for a 2019 completion.

The museum intends to file plans for the building’s conceptual design with the Public Design Commission of the City of New York on July 14.

A press release from The Studio Museum describes Adjaye’s design as “the first home designed expressly for [the museum’s] program.” The public-private initiative, supported by the city of New York, will build the museum, a five-story, 71,000-sf building, on Manhattan’s West 125th Street.

The new scheme takes cues from the brownstones, churches, and bustling sidewalk of Harlem. A public lobby not only will bring grandeur that the museum’s current building can’t offer, but it will also act as a “living room” for the Harlem community and its visitors, thanks to a light-filled core that soars four stories.

Adjaye was selected out of several other architects because of “his sensitivity to artists as well as to the neighborhood,” Golden told the New York Times.

“For generations, artists living and working in Harlem have had an enormous impact on the character and sensibilities of this country. And for the last 50 years The Studio Museum in Harlem has been a pillar for this community, studying, promoting, supporting, and contributing to the cultural fabric of this extraordinary neighborhood and amplifying voices of artists of African descent for an international audience,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “The City’s investment in the future of this organization signals our commitment to helping the Studio Museum grow, engaging a wide audience and maintaining New York’s position at the center of American spirit and identity."

Tags

Related Stories

Museums | Oct 16, 2015

Renzo Piano will turn century-old Moscow power plant into art gallery

The idea is to take the GES2 power station, which was built between 1904 and 1907, and turn it into an exhibition space for the V-A-C Foundation, a Russian art organization.

Museums | Oct 6, 2015

Columbus Museum of Art to open new wing at month's end

Created by the DesignGroup, the Margaret M. Walter Wing is part of a $36.7 million renovation project.

Museums | Sep 29, 2015

Designs unveiled for Warsaw Art Museum and Theatre

Emphasizing the building’s role in the public sphere, the museum will be accessible from all sides.

Museums | Sep 22, 2015

David Adjaye releases plans for Ruby City art gallery in San Antonio

San Antonio's Ruby City will hold 800 works of art in 10,000 sf of exhibition space.

Museums | Sep 21, 2015

Ma Yansong and Jeanne Gang revise Chicago lakefront Lucas Museum

New renderings of the proposed Lucas Museum show a scaled-down building on more green space.

Museums | Sep 16, 2015

First look: Diller Scofidio + Renfro's The Broad museum in Los Angeles

LA's newest art museum combines gallery space and collection storage based around two design concepts: the veil and the vault.

Museums | Sep 9, 2015

Bauhaus Museum Dessau names two design winners

The German museum chose one sleek, no-nonsense concept and one colorful, complex entry.

Libraries | Aug 27, 2015

Barack Obama Foundation begins search for presidential library architect

Both national and foreign firms will compete for chance to design the Chicago-based Presidential Center.

High-rise Construction | Aug 7, 2015

Tribute tower to cricket world champs will be Sri Lanka’s tallest

The 1996 Iconic Tower will be a tribute to the country’s cricket team, which won the World Cup in 1996.

Contractors | Jul 29, 2015

Consensus Construction Forecast: Double-digit growth expected for commercial sector in 2015, 2016

Despite the adverse weather conditions that curtailed design and construction activity in the first quarter of the year, the overall construction market has performed extremely well to date, according to AIA's latest Consensus Construction Forecast.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Museums

Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition

In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s. 




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021