The Whitney Museum of American Art is now housed in a building erected for him by Marcel Breuer in 1966. But the space for housing and, moreover, exhibiting the growing collection of contemporary art gathered by the institute has long ceased to suffice. Therefore, for 20 years, Whitney's management has been trying to build a new building for the museum. Until 2006, it was about adding a new wing to the old building on Madison Avenue. But after the projects of three architects (the last of whom was also Piano) were rejected by the city authorities, the attention of the museum's management turned to the actively reviving area of the old High Line railway overpass, which is now being turned into a park by the design bureau Diller & Scofidio + Renfro ". Right next to this former transportation facility, a convenient 4000 sq. m; its significant area will allow creating a new square with a cafe near the museum building and planting trees. Also, the location of the new building in the former industrial zone gives a certain freedom to the architect.
Renzo Piano designed a massive seven-story building that rises in steps from the square in front of the main entrance; its rear façade, facing the West Side Highway, is a blank wall. Outside, the building will be clad with steel panels. The feeling of the inaccessibility of the building is somewhat broken by the glazing of the first floor, where the lobby, cafe, museum shop and exhibition hall open to the public are located. At the same time, such a tough decision on the appearance of the Whitney branch at a time when all museums are trying to get visitors to them by any means possible is caused by the situation with the surrounding buildings. The area around the High Line is now being actively built up with luxury residential buildings, and expensive shops and commercial art galleries are opening in former warehouses. Given that when the High Line Park opens, the area will be even more reminiscent of a mall or an amusement park, a cultural institution like the Whitney Museum must protect itself. This also prompted the decision not to enter the building directly from the High Line overpass: visitors will have to go down to street level, and then cross the square in front of the museum.
The new building will have 4.6 thousand square meters. m of exhibition space, including the temporary exhibition hall on the fourth floor (1625 sq. m) - the largest space for art exhibitions without supporting columns in Manhattan. The fifth and sixth floors will be occupied by exhibits from the Whitney collection, while the upper, seventh floor, with sophisticated daylight-permeable floor structures, will be used for long-term projects. The terrace steps outside the building will be transformed into a sculpture garden for outdoor exhibitions. In addition, a branch of the Whitney Museum will open an educational center, a library, restoration workshops, a multifunctional room for film and video art, and an auditorium with 175 seats.
The management of the museum plans to raise $ 680 million for the construction and increase of the Whitney trust fund. Construction work is due to start in spring 2009 and a new branch will open at the end of 2012.
