2024-12-03
6 分钟Paul Logothetis takes us to an intriguing new building that is just as awe inspiring as the exhibits housed within. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You can find examples of spectacular architecture in places built for discovery.
From the Guggenheim to the Louvre, there is something about the quest for inspiration and education that allows for architects to get a little more creative with their pencils.
New York's Gilder center for Science Education and Innovation is certainly no exception.
You're listening to Tall Stories, a Monocle production brought to you by the team behind the Urbanist.
I'm Andrew Tuck.
In this episode, Paul Logothesis takes us to an intriguing new building that is just as awe inspiring as the exhibits housed within.
The American Museum of Natural History normally evokes wondering curiosity from its timeless exhibits.
And a new addition to New York City's eternal center of wonder is taking center stage and putting the spotlight on the museum itself.
The Richard Gilder center for Science Education and Innovation is the first new physical addition to this 155-year-old Central park building since 1951, a total of 73 years since the construction of the museum's planetarium was completed.
Opened in May 2023, the Gilder center has expanded the museum westward to Teddy Roosevelt park, which has seen its own improvements thanks to a Reed Hildebrand design that has provided more seating and better linked paths to a green space that seemed almost entirely reserved to Upper Westside residents and has now been opened up to all.
As a result, the park is also the ideal getaway for experiencing the Gilder center for the first time.
The center's unique entrance from the park provides a unique juxtaposition to the museum's classic design, with the modern addition taking visitors on a voyage to the American Southwest and its Jurassic origins before they even step inside the front doors.
The undulating facade is clad in Milford pink granite flowing gently into a vast atrium entrance that is enormously contrasting to the museum's main building and its grand hall entrance feel.
The New Yorker magazine likened its inspiration to Jurassic park and Dr.
Seuss mixed with the Flintstones.
From afar, I couldn't help but think of renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava's whitewashed works in Valencia.
But as you approach the entrance, traces of Barcelona's master architect Anthony Gaudi come to mind, thanks to the earthy organic contours and the sculpturally rounded windows that one could speculate are inner city cliff faces.
Even this new entrance has connected the museum from east to west, meaning patrons no longer have to double back to find the exit and can wander aimlessly through the museum without stress.
The design by the architectural firm Studio Gang, known for the Aqua Tower in their home city of Chicago and the nearby Solar Cave Office building is especially attention getting alongside the classic red brick New York is famed for, and it is highly advisable you enter the museum here rather than exiting it for the full effect.
Stepping inside, you find yourself in the vast Kenneth C.