MoMA continues to expand, and the small building has become a barrier between it and the projected skyscraper by Jean Nouvel, in the lower part of which about 3,700 m2 of exhibition space is planned for the Museum of Modern Art.
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the MoMA complex cannot, allegedly, because the Williams and Jian building (TWBTA bureau) has a different height of floors, and its spectacular bronze facade does not fit well with the glass curtain walls of the museum. After demolition, an exhibition building will be erected there from approx. 1000 m2 of galleries. Now the TWBTA building has 2,800 m2: the area will decrease due to the increase in the height of the ceilings.
The decision of MoMA caused outrage among the architectural community: the former Museum of Folk Art, which opened in 2001, was considered one of the best buildings in New York in recent years, a milestone in the architectural history of the city, while the authors, TWBTA, became the best workshop of 2013 according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Therefore, the decision of MoMA, the first museum in the United States with a special department of architecture and design, whose exhibitions at one time gave a formal justification for the international style and deconstructivism, to demolish such a significant building, was perceived as a betrayal. The “aesthetic” claims of the museum management to the bronze façade have been compared to parting with a painting by Monet or Matisse, as it does not fit well with a new carpet or ceramic tiles.
But this story has a flip side: the TWBTA building, only 12 m wide, is very inconvenient as an exhibition space: one can discuss whether it is the fault of the architects or the building site, but its defenders also admit a certain inconsistency with the program. As a solution to this problem, they suggest placing there a large MoMA library, now exiled to the Queens area, or exhibiting only small works - graphics or design. They also talk about preserving only the facade as the most valuable part of the building.
This story is a heavy legacy of the museum and construction boom in general. The small Museum of Folk Art, relying on the local "Bilbao effect", took out a $ 32 million loan to build a new original building. Experts promised him 250,000 visitors a year by 2005, but by 2011 their number did not exceed 160,000, there was no way to repay the debt, and the museum sold the building to its neighbor, MoMA, and returned to its old premises near Lincoln Center.
MoMA itself has a long and complex architectural history dating back to the 1930s. In 2004, MoMA was inaugurated after a large-scale reconstruction and expansion of
Yoshio Taniguchi's project, but it soon became clear that there was not enough space for the permanent exhibition, and the museum sold its last plot of land to the developer Hines for the construction of a skyscraper with the already mentioned 3,700 m2 of halls in its lower part. Jean Nouvel, who presented his project in 2007, connected the tower and the main museum complex, bypassing the TWBTA building in between. Then the construction of the skyscraper was slowed down by the crisis, then the Museum of Folk Art went bankrupt, and instead of the “bypassing” route, a more profitable “instead” option appeared, involving the demolition of a small building.
There is no way out of this situation that is convenient for everyone, but the public expects concessions from MoMA as a larger and more powerful institution, not to mention consistency in fulfilling its mission as a custodian of culture. Tod Williams and Billy Jian have expressed regret about the impending demolition, but are not going to fight. At the same time, in addition to architectural critics, the Architectural League of New York came out in support of the TWBTA building: Richard Mayer, Stephen Hall, Tom Maine, Robert A. Stern put their signatures under its open letter. Lesser-known designers and architects submit their rescue / rescue projects on the #FolkMoMA Tumbler account, and anyone can sign a petition to protect the building on Change.org. The former owner of the building, the Museum of Folk Art, distanced himself from the conflict, saying: "This building is not a Museum, and the Museum is not this building."
