MoMA PS1 Renovation

We designed MoMA PS1 as a canvas, not a monument. It adapts to the art it holds, bending and shifting to accommodate intimate installations or groundbreaking surveys.

The renovation project began in 1994 as a sprawling, ambitious collaboration. We spent six months deep in conversation with museum staff before developing a program and design for this complex site—a 125,000 square foot, century-old school building in the industrial neighborhood of Long Island City, Queens.
Beyond the curatorial staff, museum board and advisory committees, our collaborators included the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Department of General Services and Arts Commission. We invited feedback from community groups and conferred with outside curators, gallerists and artists on the design.

Such a thorough consensus-building process turned the public and the art community into vested stakeholders. The project belonged to the city long before we completed it.
Years of ad hoc use and minor remodeling left the historic school building with severe deterioration and functional problems, calling for substantial renovations and a master plan. Beyond the design, the remodel involved programming, site planning, construction document coordination and construction observation, all carried out in conjunction with the project’s local executive architect. In collaboration with museum staff, we developed a phasing plan to accommodate city funding priorities for PS1.
The upgraded museum maintains its historical texture, still containing a vast array of exhibition settings, indoor and out. We expanded the grounds to include a spacious outside sculpture garden and an elegant, welcoming front entrance.
Inside, rooms for performances, art education programs, artist-in-residence studios and site-specific installations easily coexist. Large galleries encompass encyclopedic exhibitions, like the recent Carolee Schneemann retrospective, while small rooms make ideal project spaces or video screening rooms.
Even the building’s infrastructure becomes an exhibition opportunity—artist Saul Melman covered the old basement boiler with gold leaf while conceptualist Lawrence Weiner wrote on the windows. The bookstore and café mingle with galleries, and multiple staircases seamlessly connect the various floors and wings. Frederick Fisher received the Brendan Gill Prize from the New York Municipal Arts Society for the project in 1998.