Long Island City, N.Y.
Cooper, Robertson & Partners / Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc.

Photography © Christian Richters

A museum gains visibility as its home evolves

"MoMA created a significant presence in an unlikely location." —Betsy Cohen Architect Cooper, Robertson & Partners www.cooperrobertson.com; Michael Maltzan Architecture www.mmaltzan.com (associate architect for lobby and roofscape) Client The Museum of Modern Art www.moma.org Key players Turner Construction (construction management); Lori Weatherly Interiors (interior design); Goldman Copeland Associates (m/e/p); DeNardis Associates (structural). See more specs here. Read more Project Portfolio [August 2002]

Program: In the middle of an $858 million capital campaign, the Museum of Modern Art needed to create a temporary space to house the museum's collection that would maintain its identity and membership loyalty while its permanent location closed for renovation and expansion. The new building would serve as a temporary exhibition space in a visually inventive way, but be able to quickly convert back to its original program as a site for museum support, preservation, and collections storage.

Solution: The design team transformed a former staple factory into a museum facility with a highly visible public face. Movement became a central theme for the design of the building, from the transformation of the museum's recognizable logo seen from the New York City subway to an elevated entry sequence to the ticket area, coat check, and public restrooms, along which a visitor can view the procession throughout the building. State-of-the-art conservation labs, digital-imaging studios, archives, and storage facilities reflect the institution's high ideals and will continue to be used at this site after the museum returns to its permanent home. The success of the project is easy to see. The large number of visitors to the new galleries exceeded projected estimates, the staff enjoys working in the new space, and museum membership has remained steady despite the move.

For more images please see the November 2004 issue or Architectural Record.
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Browse the Projects

The Winners: Limerick County Hall | Britomart Transport Centre | Ehime Prefectural Budokan | Humane Society/SPCA of San Antonio and Bexar County | James M. Wood Comm. Cntr. | Finn Center, Community School of Music and Arts | Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center | MoMA QNS | Iron Studio, Penland School | Israeli Foreign Ministry

The Finalists: Quintessa Winery | FDNY Fire Zone | University Health Network/ Toronto Hospita | General Mills, World Headquarters | Hotel Monaco (Tariff Building) | Marion Oliver McCaw Hall | Ford Rouge Center | San Francisco Ferry Building | Brentwood Skytrain Station

Editors' Choice: Satellite Operations Facility & Administrative Offices | Montclair Lofts

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