OMA partners Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu have been commissioned to design a new expansion of an already existing museum in New York. OMA is going to design a new addendum next to the SANAA’s tiered-box museum. Construction is expected to start in 2019 and will give the museum an extra 50,000 square feet.
It will be assigned for “galleries, improved public circulation and flexible space for the institution’s continued exploration of new platforms and programs.”
© OMA
The building, which is going to be the first public facility designed by Koolhaas in New York, has fundraised about 50% of its cost already. According to New York Times, this is going to be the sole museum in New York to be entirely dedicated to contemporary art.
Koolhaas commented on his admiration for his future neighbors:
“I’m particularly excited that our first public building in New York City will be for the New Museum, one of the most forward-thinking institutions for which I’ve always had a great affinity. Having collaborated with Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa on a number of projects in Europe, it is a real honor to stand alongside their great work of architecture, one of my favorites in the city.”
© OMA
Also, the head of OMA’s office in New York, Shohei Shigematsu, said:
“I am honored to be awarded this project in the city perhaps most central to OMA‘s philosophy and am thrilled to work with an institution that deeply values the practices of creative forward-thinkers. As a Japanese architect, I am very happy to engage in a unique dialogue with SANAA and build alongside one of their seminal works.”
© OMA
Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director, New Museum declared:
“OMA is a great choice for our next building. Koolhaas has thought deeply about the identity and landscape of our city going back to his landmark book Delirious New York, published in 1978, a year after the Museum’s founding. Though he is one of the world’s finest architects with a deeply civic and public spirit, this will be his first public building in New York City.”