North Adams, Mass., is probably best known as the town named after Declaration of Independence signatory Samuel Adams, and the home of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCa).
And now, an ambitious development plan aims to reaffirm North Adams’ status as a cultural destination. That plan revolves around the future opening of two new museums, each being designed by New York-based Gluckman Tang Architects, which previously has been involved in renovations of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Málaga’s Museo Picasso in Barcelona, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among other buildings.
In North Adams, the firm is designing the 165,000-sf Global Contemporary Art Museum (GCAM), located on the grounds of Harriman-West Airport. Providing the funding for GCAM is a group of international art collectors who plan to use the museum to exhibit selections from their collections.
Gluckman Tang is also designing the 32,400-sf Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum, a 400-foot-long addition to two historic freight depots in the town’s Western Gateway Heritage State Park, an old rail yard. Frank Gehry, Gluckman Tang, and Zaha Hadid have agreed to create architectural models for this building’s trainscape diorama, through which the world’s largest collection of O-scale (i.e. 1/48th-size) model trains will travel.
Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum
The significance of this development plan was evident by the appearance of two former Massachusetts governors, Michael Dukakis and William Weld, and North Adams’ mayor Richard Alcombright, at the Dec. 5 unveiling. Also in attendance were the museums’ designer Richard Gluckman; and Thomas Krens, former director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, who was a leading force behind the development of Mass MoCa in the 1980s.
Krens told The New York Times that North Adams project is still in its early stages. He estimated its overall cost at between $25 million and $30 million.
Curiously, Krens also revealed that he had initially considered China for the location of the railroad museum. (He and Gluckman recently collaborated on the new media museum for the Hunan Broadcasting System in Changsha, China.)
That being said, one of the goals of this development is to establish what Gluckman called “a cultural corridor” between North Adams and Williamstown, Mass., about seven miles away, whose renowned Sterling and Francine Clark Art Museum completed its latest stage of expansion last year.
Mass MoCa—which draws more than 150,000 visitors annually—is in the midst of doubling the gallery space on its North Adams campus to 250,000 sf by 2017, and adding new galleries. Krens believes a larger facility could be a more powerful driver for the local economy.
As for the new museums, Gov. Dukakis noted that North Adams played a prominent role in the nation’s railroad history. “Building a model train and contemporary architecture museum, of this quality and detail, in North Adams will celebrate this history and build upon the investments in culture and education we made here in the 1980s.”
The completion date for both museums is 2018.
Global Contemporary Art Museum
Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum
Related Stories
Museums | May 19, 2021
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens after $25 million renovation
CambridgeSeven designed the project.
Wood | May 14, 2021
What's next for mass timber design?
An architect who has worked on some of the nation's largest and most significant mass timber construction projects shares his thoughts on the latest design trends and innovations in mass timber.
Education Facilities | May 3, 2021
Khor Kalba Turtle and Wildlife Sanctuary completes in the United Arab Emirates
Hopkins Architects designed the project.
Museums | Apr 27, 2021
GWWO Architects unveils design of the new Niagara Falls Visitor Center
The project will replace the current outdated and cramped facility.
Market Data | Feb 24, 2021
2021 won’t be a growth year for construction spending, says latest JLL forecast
Predicts second-half improvement toward normalization next year.
Museums | Jan 28, 2021
Arkansas Arts Center to undergo $142 million transformation into the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
Studio Gang is designing the project.
Reconstruction Awards | Dec 29, 2020
The reenvisioned Sazerac House: A delectable cocktail that's just perfect for the Big Easy
The 51,987-sf Sazerac House is an interactive cocktail museum, active distillery, corporate headquarters, and event venue, all under one roof, next to the historic French Quarter of New Orleans.
Giants 400 | Dec 16, 2020
Download a PDF of all 2020 Giants 400 Rankings
This 70-page PDF features AEC firm rankings across 51 building sectors, disciplines, and specialty services.
Museums | Nov 16, 2020
Design of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum unveiled
Reed Hilderbrand and Trahan Architects designed the project.