New York's Museum of Modern Art has simplified plans for an expansion by Diller Scofidio + Renfro that will include the site of the now demolished American Folk Art Museum Building designed by Todd Williams and Billie Tsien.
The museum has eliminated plans for the so-called "Gray Box" and "Art Bay" envisioned by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro in favour of a single free admission street-facing gallery along 53rd street in Midtown Manhattan.
The Art Bay would have featured a large folding door, similar to a garage, which would have opened onto the sidewalk allowing the public to view large-scale works or happenings as they pass by.
The current main entrance to MoMA on 53rd Street. The renovation and expansion will flank it on both sides. The Gray Box was conceived of as an experimental space for performance and media events, its name being a cross between a black box theatre and a white box gallery.
MoMA has also cancelled plans for a new entrance to the sculpture garden on 54th Street, which is considered a masterwork of landscape architecture designed by Philip Johnson.
"For the past two years, MoMA has been working with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Gensler, to refine the plans for MoMA's renovation and expansion," said the museum in a statement.
MoMA's Philip Johnson-designed Sculpture Garden faces 54th Street. Plans to open it to the street have been dropped. Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock
"While a final architectu...