Almost seven years after the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York engaged the Chicago-based Studio Gang to design an expansion, the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation has broken ground, signaling the start of construction expected to last three years. The 230,000-square-foot, $383-million project by architect Jeanne Gang will add a library, theater, and new spaces for exhibitions and education, and it will better connect different areas of the existing museum. In addition, a new multi-story “Collections Core” will house some 4 million specimens in a visible storage area, allowing visitors to take in the breadth of the institution’s collection and witness scientific work taking place in real time.
“There’s an urgency to the public having a much deeper understanding of science and scientific issues that are really driving our times,” says AMNH president Ellen V. Futter, speaking to RECORD by phone. With the selection of Studio Gang, the museum found the ideal collaborator. “In addition to being a brilliant woman and fantastic architect,” says Futter, “Jeanne brings an exceptional sensitivity to both the built world and natural world.” (New York–based Davis Brody Bond is the executive architect.)
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