New York Hall of Science Expansion

[Cotuit]

New York Hall of Science

Queens, New York

72,000 square feet

Projected Completion: 2004

The design for the expansion of the New York Hall of Science introduces a variety of new exhibition spaces, creates a loop circulation that redefines the visitor sequence and provides a memorable image for this interactive science museum, whose original building housed exhibits on space and space travel at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The new building is a long low volume that extends north from and serves as a horizontal counterpoint to the iconic "Great Hall" of the original Harrison and Abramovitz building. The new building's transparency contrasts with the relative opacity of the cellular concrete frame structure infilled with dark cobalt-colored, cast glass shards that defines the Great Hall. Inside, the new "Hall of Light" is suffused with muted white light, contrasting with the dark exhibit halls of the existing building. A public art installation located at the end of the luminous exhibition gallery takes advantage of the building's orientation and animates its spatial terminus with a continually changing optical experience, which helps to calibrate the visitor's movement along the upper gallery. A transparent base, which wraps the northern end of the building, allows passersby glimpses into the Hall's interior and furthers the museum's goal of accessibility. A new landscaped precinct created at the intersection of the new and old buildings will house the renovated Rocket Park and provide outdoor program space for summer camp or science fair activities.

From Polshek Partnership

New York Hall of Science Website

[Scott]

That is amazing! New York has got to be the city with the most important cultural instituitions that are located in neighborhoods outside the traditional downtown.

btw- I'm going on a walking tour of the city this spring, it's always a much more intense expierience to walk thru a city than drive. intense