In Fall 2018, during its 50th anniversary, The Studio Museum in Harlem will break ground on its 82,000-square-foot future home on the site of its existing building. Designed by Adjaye Associates, the new structure will more than double the space for exhibition and the museum’s Artist-in-Residence program, as well as outdoor space, with a planned roof terrace running the length of the building from the facade of its main entrance on 125th Street to its other exterior wall, and secondary entrance and loading dock, on 124th Street.

Adjaye Associates, in collaboration with executive architect Cooper Robertson, have created what David Adjaye calls “a porous building” with sculptural facades of precast concrete on both sides of the building containing windows onto the neighborhood and large niches for installing outdoor artwork. “We wanted to make something different, something rooted in the place but also something that will reimagine the place,” Adjaye said at a press event yesterday, where the design was unveiled.