New Museum Reveals Design For 7-Story Building On The Bowery

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — The New Museum's new seven-story building is set to have a striking facade — doubling the museum's exhibition space on the Bowery.

A rendering for the new 60,000-square-foot building was released Wednesday. The New Museum's second building, located at 231 Bowery, was designed by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu in collaboration with Cooper Robertson.

"Our new building establishes its own distinct identity yet it is highly connected to the existing museum," OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu said in a statement. "The new New Museum will be a synergistic pair working spatially and programmatically in tandem, offering a repertoire of spaces to match the institution’s curatorial ambitions and diverse programs."

The new building will feature a larger lobby and bookstore with an upper level connecting to a "skyroom" and an 80-seat restaurant.

Ren Koolhaas and Shigematsu of OMA were first tapped to design the second wing of the New Museum in 2017. Department of Buildings permits were filed in April for the addition, which will replace an existing six-story loft building on the Bowery.

The museum, which arrived to the neighborhood in 2007, will add more than 10,000 square feet of exhibition space.

"The building gives us the opportunity to continue to experiment with new formats and models around various areas of programmatic focus," Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director, said in a statement. "These areas include new productions and ambitious new commissions; contextual exhibition presentations; studio space for artist residencies; and international partnerships and collaborations with peer institutions around the world."