SW/TCH Competition, Honorable Mention
The spirit of a time can be captured and exemplified in its architecture.
The new Guggenheim is a figural ghost of today's society. The diversity of forms reflects the cultural shift both in the art and architecture embodied inside and outside the new Guggenheim. The building is a series of eight volumes containing all the programmatic requirements for a twenty first century museum. The introduction to the new Guggenheim begins with an open air street level entry plaza. The entry plaza is accessible twenty four hours a day. Its uniqueness is that there are three points of access containing elevators to all eight programmatic volumes, simultaneously the plaza allows for performances both physical and virtual. As soon as reaching the second level of volumes one has views into Central Park from the demonstration kiosk and information center. The next level contains seminar rooms, theater and gallery 1 above which is the first of three sky plazas. The three sky plazas are the spaces where Guggenheim’s ghost is seen most regularly. The ghost attends receptions and truly enjoys the occasional wedding held at the museum.
Above the next series of galleries and second theater is the archive. The archive is a series of five vaulted spaces with direct access to both the reference and digital libraries. A cafe and second souvenir shop top out the building along with the last of seven gallery spaces within the museum. The innovation of the new Guggenheim is the simple act of geist without an historic precedent haunting its iconic architecture.
