The American Museum of Natural History decided on Studio Gang Architects’ design for the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. The New York City museum’s new building will have both scientific facilities and public exhibition space.
Jeanne Gang designed the Central Exhibition Hall to connect directly to the center of the museum through a spatial gallery. Along the route will be laboratories, visualization theaters, imaging facilities, and classrooms, along with museum exhibitions. The hall’s exterior will be covered in glass and stone.
The hall will hold areas where visitors can engage with high-tech tools, such as gene mapping, 3D imaging, and big data assimilation and visualization, all to learn about the current state of scientific research.
Also in the plans are a museum library, an insect hall, an interpretive wall, several floors displaying the museum’s collections, and the Invisible Worlds Theater. The theater will show, via new imaging technology, the strides being made in research of things big (the depths of the ocean, for instance) and small (the human microbial ecosystem).
The entire project, which comes out to 218,000 sf, is expected to cost $325 million, and half of that money has been raised. Construction is expected to begin in 2017, and the goal is to open in 2020.
Related Stories
Museums | Jul 11, 2022
Denmark opens a museum that tells the stories of refugees worldwide
Located on the site of Denmark’s largest World War II refugee camp, the new Refugee Museum of Denmark, FLUGT, tells the stories of refugees from the camp as well as refugees worldwide.
Museums | Jun 28, 2022
The California Science Center breaks grounds on its Air and Space Center
The California Science Center—a hands-on science center in Los Angeles—recently broke ground on its Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
Museums | May 31, 2022
University of Texas at Dallas breaks ground on new 12-acre cultural district
The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently broke ground on the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the first phase of a new 12-acre cultural district on campus.
Museums | Mar 16, 2022
Unpacking the secrets to good museum storage
Museum leaders should focus as much design attention on the archives as the galleries themselves, according to a new white paper by Erin Flynn and Bruce Davis, architects and museum experts with the firm Cooper Robertson.
Projects | Mar 2, 2022
Construction nears completion on $1B Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo
At an estimated budget of $1 billion, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is considered the largest museum in the world dedicated to one civilization. The superlatives don’t end there: It’s also the largest museum in Egypt, the largest Pharaonic museum in the world, and one of the world’s leading scientific, historical, and archeological study centers.
Museums | Feb 25, 2022
Virginia Museum of History and Culture set to reopen after 18-month renovation
Expanded exhibits present new learning approaches.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
On-campus performing arts centers and museums can be talent magnets for universities
Cultural facilities are changing the way prospective students and parents view higher education campuses.
Museums | Jan 25, 2022
Cooper Robertson selected to design master plan for Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
The project will seek public input regarding the campus master plan.
Museums | Jan 14, 2022
The Shedd Aquarium unveils its $500 million vision for the future
The project will prepare the aquarium for the next 100 years.
Museums | Dec 20, 2021
Marvel selected for $21 million renovation of the Bronx Museum of Arts’ Grand Concourse Entrance
The museum is one of NYC’s only major museums with free admission.
