The Plan: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s New Modern and Contemporary Wing Goes Big – Commercial Observer
Step right up and greet the Met’s new wing.
On Sept. 15, The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan broke ground to begin the demolition and redevelopment for a new exhibition space to house its collection of 20th- and 21st-century modern and contemporary art.
Set to open in 2030, the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing — named after two of the project’s largest donors — was designed by Mexico City- and New York City-based architect Frida Escobedo, the first woman to design a wing at the Met in its 156-year history.
“Frida is excellent and stands out among many other architects,” said Max Hollein, director and CEO of the Met. “She not only has a deep understanding and sensitivity for art, but really also how art can be and should be placed.”
The Tang Wing will span 126,000 square feet across five stories behind a scaled facade featuring a limestone celosía, which is a kind of architectural screen with a design that takes inspiration from a variety of different cultures.
“The Met has been engaged and involved with contemporary art from the very beginning of its founding,” Hollein said. “It’s part of the DNA and makes us different from some of our major peer institutions like the Louvre or the British Museum. The Met wanted to make a major move to really substantially show the art of the 20th and 21st century appropriately, with enough space and also with the architectural environment that it deserves.”
The $670 million endeavor funded by private donors will feature 69,500 square feet of exhibition space — double the size of the existing exhibition space — and more than 18,500 square feet of outdoor terraces on the fourth and fifth floors. Ceiling heights will range from 11 to 22 feet, and the project will include a 1,000-square-foot cafe on the fifth floor.
The Met is working with the Central Park Conservancy and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to improve the wing’s outdoor spaces, giving them more of what’s described as a Central Park vibe.
Sustainability and accessibility will play large parts in the development of the new wing, as the Met works to ensure the space reduces its energy consumption and that all guests, no matter how they get around, can enjoy what the museum has to offer. The wing will feature two elevators, mobility ramps, and improvements to the entry points from different wings. The design of the windows is meant to enhance natural light while reducing solar gain.
Overall, the Met is curating a new home for an art collection that features pieces from artists such as Mary Rogers, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, Vasily Kandinsky, Diego Rivera, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock — just to name a few.
“We’re creating an environment that allows different art and different artistic constellations to exist in the most powerful way,” Hollein said. “Our head of the modern contemporary department and other curators have worked together with Frida to imagine an overall collection display designed for a specific purpose, with the art in mind.”
Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.
