OMA

The New Museum, the only one in New York City devoted exclusively to contemporary art, has selected OMA to design a new building for its next phase of expansion. Originally from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, OMA is an international practice operating within the traditional boundaries of architecture and urbanism. The project is led by OMA Partners Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas.

Double footprint

OMA will design a new building on the adjacent property that the museum purchased in 2008, at 231 Bowery in New York. The new structure will complement and respect the integrity of the museum’s flagship SANAA building as a singular, critically-acclaimed work of architecture. The expansion will double the New Museum’s footprint on the Bowery, providing an additional 50,000 square feet (4,650 square meters) for additional galleries, improved public circulation and flexible space for the institution’s continued exploration of new platforms and programs. The project is scheduled to break ground in 2019.

Adventurous scope

The New Museum is an international cultural destination attracting 400,000 visitors annually, and is respected worldwide for the groundbreaking and adventurous scope of its curatorial program and exhibitions. This next phase of expansion will provide greater space for collaborative and cross-disciplinary activities, and for closer integration with the museum’s renowned exhibition program. For OMA this project complements the portfolio of OMA-designed buildings currently under construction. These include Taipei Performing Arts Centre, the renovation of Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) in Berlin, Qatar National Library, Qatar Foundation Headquarters, Bryghusprojektet in Copenhagen, Fondation d’Entreprise Galeries Lafayette in Paris, and Prince Plaza in Shenzhen.