Do We Need a New, Bigger, Museum?

In recent years, art museums in New York City have expanded their exhibition space or are in the process of doing so. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Frick Collection are just a few examples of cultural institutions that are significantly increasing their display area. The New Museum recently joined this pattern after reopening following two years of renovation and an expansion by OMA, led by partners Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas.

The museum’s expansion, branded as the New New Museum, offers some reflections that can be summarized in two ways: a significant success in its formal and spatial design, resolving some weaknesses of the original building by SANAA; and the corroboration that enlarging the art museums of New York City are less about experiencing art and more about creating spaces of gathering and consumption.

From a formal perspective, expanding the existing staggered-box building was not easy. Its iconic form required a building that was both different and integrated with its mass. OMA’s project does exactly this with a faceted building that resembles Hugh Ferriss’s paintings, following the setback principle of the 1916 Zoning Law. However, the characteristic OMA irony in how they usually address building form is also present in the New Museum, as the building is set back not only on its upper floors but also at ground level. The result is a sharp angle strategically located at one of the vertices of the existing building, creating a visual tension between the two.

The faceted exterior form shapes a sculptured staircase in the interior, aiming to improve the spatial and circulation limitations of the SANAA structure. In the old building, to move between floors, one had to take the freight elevator or use the small fire staircase, creating an awkward experience for visitors. The new faceted staircase faces the street and offers partial views of it, and enables smooth movement between levels and exhibition rooms. This staircase also demonstrates OMA’s design ability and reminds some of the best projects of the firm, like the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam and the Casa da Música concert hall in Porto. The whole staircase is covered with a seamless metal mesh, lit from behind, while each triangular space between the facade and the circulation, interior, and terraces features different materials, emphasizing its various programs, including light blue plywood for the small auditorium and a black-pigmented sprayed concrete for the terraces. Artificial and natural light, reflections, exterior views, and people’s movement create an experience that the old New Museum lacked.

Nevertheless, this experience is compromised by the new capacity of the museum, which creates overcrowded spaces and makes it difficult to enjoy the artwork. While writing these lines, I see a story shared by the OMA New York Instagram account with a quote of Shohei Shigematsu stating the “museum is evolving into a more community-based exchange place rather than just a gallery space.” This is a generous way to say that the museum, like many others, is moving toward consumption and flaunting power in the art world rather than experiencing art. This tendency is evident not only in the forthcoming ground-floor restaurant but also in the curatorial approach of the opening exhibition, New Humans: Memories of the Future. The galleries are densely packed with works spanning more than a century, making both art appreciation and circulation difficult. This is not an argument against expanding access to art. But the combination of rising ticket prices and an emphasis on quantity over coherence raises a critical question: why do we need a New, bigger, New Museum if experiencing art is, in fact, deteriorating?