Museum of Natural History Moves Forward on $325 Million Expansion
By: James Thorne
Tags: Architecture, Science, Breaking News, Museums, New York City

Museum of Natural History Moves Forward on $325 Million Expansion

Landmarks commission approves hotly contested plan for construction.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Tuesday a $325 million proposal for The American Museum of Natural History to remake its Columbus Avenue wing.

When plans for the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation were first announced in 2014, community members expressed passionate concern that the neighboring Theodore Roosevelt Park would be compromised. Studio Gang, the design team headed by Jeanne Gang, responded by collaborating with local residents to limit intrusion on the green space. The revised proposal calls for the demolition of three existing, non-historic buildings with the intent of limiting 80 percent of the expansion’s footprint to current museum land.

Museum President Ellen Futter advocated for the Gilder Center as a valuable source of STEM education for the city’s students. “Science education in our country is in crisis,” she said.

Mike Novaceck, provost of science for the museum, echoed this sentiment and explained that the demands of science and education have changed greatly since the museum was founded 150 years ago. The Gilder Center, he hopes, will provide a jolt of modernity to the mostly Victorian complex. Along with educational facilities, the new building will house many of the museum’s 33 million specimens and provide workspace for hundreds of resident research scientists.

While the Gilder Center departs markedly from the architecture of the 1874 master plan, it does complete the system of corridors as initially envisioned. Today’s visitors often find themselves trapped in bewildering and frustrating dead-ends, the result of incremental expansions that failed to unite the building.

For all that would be gained, the museum made no secret of what would be lost: a quarter of an acre and seven trees from one of the city’s oldest and most beloved parks.

Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer blessed the project while expressing sympathy with the dissenters. “I’m a tree hugger,” she said. “You all know me. I like old bricks and old buildings.” In the end, though, Brewer endorsed what she called a “sensitive and considerate end product.”

Members of the Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park and the Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park acknowledged that progress had been made but felt that more could be done to protect the public grounds. Stuart Blumin of the Defenders insisted the project be thought of as a “museum within a park” and lamented the building’s imposing facade. Others commented on the architectural execution and questioned the appropriateness of certain materials when executed at scale.

Blessing from the Landmarks Commission comes on the heels of approval from Community Board 7, which represents the interests of Upper West Side residents and institutions. The museum’s next major hurdle will come in 2017 with a Parks Department hearing centered on the center’s environmental impact.

If all goes according to plan, the expansion will break ground next year with an expected completion date of 2020.