2. Background
Founded in 1931 by
Gertrude Vanderbilt
Whitney, a sculptor
700 works of
American Art were
displayed at 8-12
West 8th Street
In 1966, building
moved to its current
location at 75th and
Madison Ave.
Current building
designed by
Hungarian architect,
Marcel Brever
3. Proposed Expansion
In 2003, Rem
Koolhaas
proposed a 9-story
building on top of
adjacent
brownstones
Estimated cost
was $200 million
Plan was rejected
because the
Museum couldn’t
afford it
4. “Whitney’s Identity Crisis”
Leonard A. Lauder
donated $131 million to
the Whitney in 2008
$680 million project that
involved opening a
second museum at the
High Line was proposed
Is it affordable? Should
the uptown building be
abandoned? Can there
be a compromise?
5. Budget Issues
Combined yearly costs would increase
from $36 million to $60 million
Whitneyhad only raised $371 million
through signed pledges
The
original building was leased to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art for next 8
years
6. The High Line Project
Designed by Renzo Piano, an Italian Pritzker-
Prize winning architect
Six-story, 195,000 square-foot building
8. Four levels of outdoor gallery space that face the
High Line, including the roof.
Exposed steel girders on the roof echo the steel
structure of the High Line itself.
Protective arm over the original building. Koolhaas talked about how when you switch floors in a skyscraper, it feels like you’re entering a whole new world- each skyscraper was trying to be its own little city. This was his way of expanding the museum and at the same time, avoiding the feel of separation.
Stepped formation- point out highline, entrance…
Reminds of Brooklyn Museum
Theme of interaction with the environment and nature just like the High Line- entrance lets light and fresh air into the museum, the outdoor galleries overlook the High Line – Sense of belonging with the High Line
At any location in the museum you don’t feel enclosed. There’s this idea of openness and interaction with the outside
