After the success of Bilbao, the idea of making another Guggenheim Museum in New York seemed to be a logical follow up. But at twice the size of Bilbao - 50,000 SM or 1/2 million SF, and located at the East River in front of the Manhattan skyline, it was also a formidable challenge.
In 2000, the Guggenheim under director Tom Krens, was considering the possibility of constructing a new branch in Lower Manhattan, that would be worthy companion to the Upper East Side landmark by Frank Lloyd Wright. The site under negotiation with the city would be situated along the waterfront, on axis with Wall Street.
Access to the site from Wall Street would require crossing under the West Side Highway. This suggested that the project must have enough architectural presence on the city-side to entice visitors to make that traverse.
From the waterfront, the project must distinguish itself from the verticality of the skylight behind. We concluded that a “horizontal skyscraper” elevated from the ground would fulfill that promise. The elevated structure would be supported by a number of monumental pylons drilled into the bedrock of the river. Between the museum and the water would be a number of floating platforms for public activities and outdoor sculptural installations.
We developed the massing concept, using the colored blocks (see Design Process) to map out the exhibition program. The large museum would be divided into three exhibition themes: Permanent Collection represented in red, the Special Exhibitions by living artists in yellow, and Temporary Exhibition in blue. These three themes would step up from the Wall Street side towards the East River; converging at three elevated atriums overlooking the water.
When articulated sculpturally in contrast to the highly rectilinear backdrop of skyscrapers, we envisioned the New York Guggenheim to be reminiscent of a “Cloud”, earning the scheme the nickname “Manhattan Project”.
We quickly translated the sketch model (1:1/16 in) into a larger scale model (1: 1/8 in). From this model, the design team further developed the exterior surfaces, based on the concept of the “Cloud”.
A 3D computer model (image on left) was created based on the digitized data from the design model (see Design Process). Using this computer model, the design team began to construct an even larger model (1:1/4 in) for presentation to the Guggenheim and the city officials in New York. The curvilinear ribs (image on right) were derived from the surfaces of the computer model, and provided the armature for attaching the final design surfaces.
The large scale of the presentation model allowed the design team to develop the outdoor sculptural platforms and certain public areas of the scheme in greater detail.
Approaching the museum from Wall Street, its impressive massing would hover above the West Side Highway. The transparency of the central atrium would invite visitors to cross over the from Wall Street to the cover entry plazas.
The entry atrium would be the focal point of the space between the water and the galleries above. Floating on the a reflective pool and at twice the height of the Wright Rotunda, it would incorporate multi-media installations and large scale sculptures. The reflective pool could be transformed into an ice-skating rink in the winter.
Visitors approaching the museum from along the riverfront would ascend to the elevated sky-lobby by escalators and elevators. A small performing arts center and a ferry terminal were treated as discreet buildings on the ground level, and accessible directly to the plaza and public spaces.
A 20-stories tower would anchor the “cloud” with museum administrative offices and artists in residence apartments, and engage in a dialogue with the other towers in the Manhattan skyline.
Despite the fact that the concept model called for the metal clad exterior, we have always planned to develop the metal system in a very different direction than the one in Bilbao. The unfortunate cancellation of the project has left this intention unfulfilled.
The Guggenheim Museum New York was not only a grand vision; it was also a labor of love. We couldn’t have accomplished what we did in the short timeframe of 10 weeks without the commitment and hard work of an extraordinary team - this presentation is dedicated to them.
The projects in this section were designed and executed during my time at Gehry Partners LLP (the office). I am grateful to Mr. Gehry and the team at the office for their generosity and support over the years. All intellectual property rights of these projects continue to be owned by the office unless otherwise mentioned. The narrative texts on the projects are entirely personal, they do not represent the views or opinions of the office, its clients or any other third party or organization.