Bronx Museum of the Arts
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Location:
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140 Grand Concourse
at 165th Street
New York
Bronx, NY 10456
USA
coordinates:
40.8303871 -73.9200897
Building names(s): Bronx Museum of the Arts
Architect/Designer:
Arquitectonica
architect website:
Other Information:
Completion date:
Function:
website: www.bronxmuseum.orggetting there:
D OR B TRAINS to the 167 STREET/GRAND CONCOURSE STATION. Exit at rear of station, walk south along Grand Concourse two blocks.
PLEASE NOTE: D Train stops all times except rush hours peak direction (6:15 am – 9 am to Manhattan, 4 pm – 6:45 pm from Manhattan). Take B Train at 145 St. to 167th St. / Grand Concourse.
4 TRAIN to the 161 STREET/YANKEE STADIUM STATION. Walk east three blocks to the Grand Concourse, then, walk north four blocks along Grand Concourse to 165th St.
hours: Thursday – Sunday 11am – 6pm
admission: $5. / tip: free on Fridays
Last modified: 10 July, 2009 | Suggested By LT
$19 million expansion of the Bronx Museum of Art, designed by Bernardo Fort-Brescia and his firm Arquitectonica.
Rising three towering stories above the busy street, the northern wing of the museum is the first phase of a project that will literally unfold to the corner, eventually replacing the squat former-synagogue the museum has occupied since 1982. It adds 16,700 square feet to an existing 33,000.
The aluminum-clad façade resembles an abstract paper fan, comprising seven irregular masses that are broken vertically by columns of fritted glass that spill light into the galleries. The dynamism created by the folds is heightened by diagonal incisions into the aluminum. Fort-Brescia explained that the crinkled frontispiece admits the dominant western light indirectly so it will not damage the art.
“Through the innovations of this pleated façade, it is our belief that it will not only serve to heighten the positive profile of the Bronx but also establish the county as a vibrant cultural destination,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said during the ribbon cutting ceremony on October 3.
Perhaps the greatest service the glass provides is a “storefront” atmosphere. The two-floor lobby will house a public gallery, allowing pedestrians to steal a quick peak of art and maybe even be tempted inside.
“It’s folding, it’s gesturing, it’s three dimensional,” Fort-Brescia said. “We wanted people from the street to look in. Part of the point is to make the cultural building the center of the city.”
Behind the lobby is one of the new large gallery spaces; designed with four flat walls, it may be closed off for projections and other installations. Above this sits the main gallery, which stretches from the jagged but functional wall out to an enclosed rear terrace that seems to float above the ground.
At the very top is a new classroom and media lab. “We were in the basement before,” Education Department Director Lynn Pono said. “It’s such a contrast. The light is amazing.”