MORE IMAGES COMING SOON!
|
Whitney Museum of American Art Expansion Wing |
|
| Address: | 943 Madison Ave. (entrance) |
| Developer(s): | Whitney Museum of American Art |
| Architect: | Renzo Piano |
| Floors: | 9 |
| Height: | 176 feet |
| Status/Comments: | PROPOSED. Whitney directors engaged Renzo Piano to design
an expansion wing under complex zoning parameters. Museum owns adjacent
five brownstones on southern corner of its block, but the neighborhood
is at the heart of the Upper East Side Historic District, and the
buildings cannot be demolished. Piano proposed erecting a 9-story tower
behind the brownstones, then razing two of the five to make way for a
32-foot-wide glass entrance gallery. Finicky architect threatened to
walk away from project when Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected
his proposal by insisting one of the brownstones was a
"contributing building" in the historic district. However,
Piano came back promising to use the brownstones' interior space and
only knock down one of them for the entryway. Commission approved plan
in May 2005, clearing the way for museum to appeal to the City's Board
of Standards and Appeals for relevant zoning variances.
Proposal follows a 1985 attempt to expand the esteemed Upper East Side museum with a space by Michael Graves (that community members shouted out the door), as well as a recent Rem Koolhaas proposal that was scrapped due to economic considerations. |