The Market Gallery 188 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Design Brief (Re) Programming Museums, Spring 2020 Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
The Market Gallery Table of Contents 4 Institutional Concept Design Goals Vision 6
Typology Research Salone del Mobile, Milano Chelsea Market, New York Queens Museum, New York
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Forecast & Data Analysis Pop-Ups & Marketing Growth of Biennales
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Site & Context Analysis Emerging Shopping & Design District Tourism Corridors Transit Accessibility
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Programing and Space Planning Institutional Programming Space Program
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Design Goals & References
Group 5 Marco Piscitelli Columbia GSAPP CCCP, 2021
Ben Gillis Columbia GSAPP M. Arch 2020
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(Re) Programming Museums, Spring 2020
Institutional Concept Design Goals & Vision New York City is home to over a hundred museums, galleries, and cultural venues. This set of sites is akin to a complex ecosystem of institutions of varying sizes, histories, and audiences. Our Museum, “The Market Gallery,” provides a sampling of the city’s numerous institutions by curating a collection of public-facing exhibition spaces which existing cultural institutions occupy in order to promote themselves, create new art, or reach out to a new audience. Like a 19th century market, this museum provides an immersive, organizing armature into which numerous other parties plug-in to produce, display, and exhibit their work. The Market Gallery is inspired by its unique site characteristics. Located on a curious corner at the intersection between 34 th Street, a major axis of tourist retail infrastructures, and Madison Avenue, an emerging design district supporting numerous new and established design showrooms, the museum responds to desires of tourists and New Yorkers alike through referencing the building’s unique history as a department store. The site demands of this institution an engaging and welcoming environment as well as variety and ephemerality to invite frequent informal visits.
Through the inclusion (or curation) of wellestablished, historic museums alongside smaller, alternative cultural institutions, and, critically, their juxtaposition on equal footing, the Market Gallery challenges the hegemony of the well-endowed. The Guggenheim’s allotted space may, for example, be situated beside an emerging hybrid gallery/studio established in the Bronx last year. The Market Gallery encourages that the gallery spaces it hosts be active, ever-changing, and dynamic venues. Custom, site-specific installations are preferred over static works which visitors may have already seen. The physical production of art, allowed for by the flexibility of these spaces as working-studios, is another method in which member-museums may sponsor emerging voices while simultaneously representing themselves. The Market Gallery stipulates only that all exhibition programming be temporary in order to contribute to the ever-changing nature of the experience. Like a market, the Market Gallery is a casual, dynamic space of controlled cacophony, with the numerous voices of New York’s art institutions represented in diverse, interconnected spaces. The circulation design of such a building
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supports easy movement but also facilitates the social functions of what may become a continuous opening party. By responding the demands of the immediate neighborhood and the history of the building, the Market Gallery can become, to embrace rather than resist terms of consumerism, a “one-stopshop� which allows tourists to experience something of the city’s numerous museums in one place while also letting New Yorkers keep track of the numerous cultural programming happening all over the city.
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Typology Research
Salone del Mobile, Milano is a weeklong furniture fair, similar to a trade show and the largest of its kind, which brings together designers from all over the world to exhibit new design in all its forms, from functional home furnishings to sculptural furniture, in one platform. The same week an independent, informal series of events called Fuorisalone takes place at various venues in the city of Milan, creating a larger network of institutions and creators. These events collectively are called Milan Design Week.
Chelsea Market attracts over 6 million national and international visitors annually, it is one of the most trafficked, and written-about, destinations of any kind in New York City. For both local foodies and international tourists, it’s entirely possible to enter the Market in the morning and not exit until lunchtime, without ever growing bored—and certainly without ever going hungry.
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The Queens Museum is dedicated to presenting the highest quality visual arts and educational programming for people in the New York metropolitan area, and particularly for the residents of Queens, a uniquely diverse, ethnic, cultural, and international community .The Museum fulfills its mission by designing and providing art exhibitions, public programs and educational experiences that promote the appreciation and enjoyment of art, support the creative efforts of artists , and enhance the quality of life through interpreting, collecting, and exhibiting art, architecture, and design.
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Salone del Mobile, Milano Size: 2,500,000 SF Location: Fairgrounds outside of Milan Visitors: 370,000 Participators: 2,000 Companies Programming: Film, Dance, Music, & Lectures
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Excerpts from their “Manifesto” “The Salone del Mobile is a system of connections, creativity and innovation. Within the space of a week, more than 300,000 people converge on Milan: entrepreneurs, journalists, collectors, intellectuals, critics, designers, architects, creatives, purveyors of knowledge and nurturers of beauty. They meet up again each year during Salone week in a place where they know they will be greeted with a great raft of opportunities. The Salone is an emotion first and foremost, transmitting positivity, enthusiasm, initiative and cheerfulness. Companies that work and design are proud to invest in an event on which the eyes of the world will be trained; architects and designers channel their creativity in order to express it at the Salone. Emotion lies in putting together a project that will, in turn, transmit emotion and empathy; the event’s organisers work closely with the companies for a year, in order to provide them with the best possible platform. This is why the Salone is so much more than just a trade fair. It is a global experience that attracts professionals who are directly involved with the sector as well as people from outside the design business. Everybody wants to attend the Salone, to come into contact with creative people, innovative people who produce and people who buy. Companies, creatives, trend-seekers, all want to be in Milan,
protagonists of the Salone del Mobile. This sets in train a virtuous design – product – quality – innovation – city – value chain – that reflects the uniqueness of the Milan Salone. This virtuous process is made up of a number of essential parts, each of which is an important piece of the jigsaw that sets out the intentions of the new Manifesto.” Fuorisalone (trans: “Outside Salone”) The Fuorisalone is not a Fair event, it doesn’t have a central organization and it’s not managed by any Institution. It started spontaneously early in the 1980’s thanks to the will of companies working in the furnishing and industrial design sectors. Currently, it is expanding into many related sectors including automotive, technology, telecommunications, art, fashion and food. These events extend Salone beyond the walls of the fairgrounds and creates an urban network of independent galleries, organizations, and institutions to exhibit new and emerging work of all forms.
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Chelsea Market, New York Size: 1.2 million square feet Vendors: 55 Visitors: 9 million per year, 28,000– 35,000 daily Programming: Food Market, Dining Hall, Retail Space
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Mission Statement “Iconic culinary destination Chelsea Market has become an internationallyrenowned brand and is considered one of the greatest indoor food and retail marketplaces in the world today. Located in the heart of New York City’s Meatpacking District, the market’s collection of distinctive and diverse merchants adds up to more than just your average food hall, rather a lively marketplace where one can shop the region’s finest fishmonger, take home prime cuts of meat from one of the area’s best whole-animal butchers, load up on artisanal cheeses, fresh produce, and imported Italian dry goods. It’s the savory meals enjoyed at Chelsea Market, just as much as the fresh ingredient s purchased there that make it a beloved destination for locals and travelers alike.” Developer Statement Food halls can drive value within commercial and mixed use developments, but developers must create strong partnerships with local chefs and food providers if they wish to create a truly unique, authentic, food destination.Developers of food halls may need to take risks by investing in innovative chefs and food producers who may lack proven credit histories; these investments may feature unconventional agreements to create financially feasible deals that work for both parties. - By forming close relationships with food providers and retail tenants, a developer can influence environmental sustainability outcomes by creating campaigns on issues, such as composting and waste reduction.
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Queens Museum, New York Size: 100,000 SF Location: Flushing Meadows Park Visitors Per Annum: 200,000 Programming: Film, Dance, Music, & Lectures
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The Queens Museum presents artistic and educational programs and exhibitions that directly relate to the contemporary urban life of its constituents, while maintaining the highest standards of professional, intellectual, and ethical responsibility.”
Studio Program The Queens Museum Studio Program is one of very few artist residencies which is physically, spatially, and institutionally embedded within a US museum . When the museum was renovated in 2013, eight artist studios in the north wing were constructed. In designating permanent real estate to the long-term development of new artwork on site, the Museum aims to support “artists’ creative processes and professional development.” While these studios are only open to the public twice a year, during exhibition openings, artists are free to organize their own events, programs, exhibitions within their spaces. The museum thus contains numerous smaller, ever-changing spaces representing emerging talent alongside larger, more permanent galleries, as well as the enormous Panorama, an iconic destination.
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Forecast & Data Analysis
Pop-Ups & Marketing.“Although the idea of a pop-up museum may seem like it is the equivalent of a fast-food experience when a gourmet meal is on offer, the fact is that some people need to try a sample before they will commit to a fine dining experience. If curated successfully, both will complement one another.�
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Growth of Biennales .Biennales, and their otherwise timed counterparts, have been on the rise over the past 20 years for various reasons and “ In 2019, about 300 biennales open[ed] globally, each presenting its own view of the world’s most important art.”architecture, and design.”
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Pop-Up & Marketing Museums Outside their Walls: Pop-ups and Other Models as Marketing Museums are experimenting with (and crucially, blurring the lines between) new forms of marketing, outreach, and public programming. Rather than solely focus on traditional advertising like print and online media, to reach a wider audience, many institutions are bringing their collection outside the walls of their museums to better engage with diverse communities. A recent American Association of Museums report claims, in a section called “Takin’ it to the Streets” that museums are, “from pop-up retail spaces and wandering food trucks to mobile museums and outdoor exhibits in unexpected places,” currently looking for ‘new ways to meet their patrons— or encounter new ones—outside the confines of their traditional physical locations.”¹ This curatorial trend represents confluence of different socioeconomic trends: “a weakened economy that makes it more difficult to attract paying customers yet easier to set up temporary, low-cost, low-risk experiential sites; a general loosening of cultural authority [...] and a revival of localism [...]. It may also be a reaction against a world becoming too global and too plugged-in. Face-to-face and participatory experiences, especially in unexpected places, can serve as a counterweight to digital, virtual experiences.”
The museum exhibiting work outside the boundaries of its walls responds to these sorts of trends. One example is a longrunning initiative called Inside|Out, of the Detroit Institute of the Arts. So that art may better “serve as a catalyst for public dialogue and shared cultural experiences,” DIA funds the printing and installation of 80 large scale reproductions of its work in unexpected public spaces.² The pop-up museum “outpost” is another model which has been tested by institutions like the Pompidou Center recently. On some anxieties that these types of temporary, satellite practices cheapen rather than benefit the experience and identity of an institution, Manuel Charr for Museum Next asserts: “ Although the idea of a pop-up museum may seem like it is the equivalent of a fast-food experience when a gourmet meal is on offer, the fact is that some people need to try a sample before they will commit to a fine dining experience. [...] Importantly, this does not diminish what the Pompidou Centre in Paris offers, nor does it trivialize the experience for visitors to the pop-up version. If curated successfully, both will complement one another .”³ These new models of programming reaching outside of the walls of the institution are a form of public outreach, but in effect function also as marketing. For museums to stay afloat, their
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marketing campaigns must be agile and responsive to new trends.This museum forecasts that, in accordance to natural demographic shifts, millennials will continue to grow in percentage of visitors in attendance to cultural visitor-serving organizations while boomers attendance shrinks.⁴ Crucially, while 21.9% of adult millennials visited a cultural organization, they comprise 30.9% of total US cultural visitation.⁵ What does this mean? “Millenials are far more likely to revisit within the year than other generations. They are the most loyal. It proves that millennial ‘intent to visit’ is manifesting itself as actual visits.”⁶Alternate forms of museum marketing, like using unconventional venues, or hosting pop-ups, better reach out to millenials. Referencing a “data-driven model” of market budgeting such as that of Kwasi Hope Agyeman, CEO at Pax Analytics, reveals room, a full 10% of an advertising budget, for innovative new forms of outreach:
Such a fund for “innovation” could be an inexpensive but impactful installation hosted by this museum.
Data Driven Model 60% Digital (SEO, ad-buy media agency, social media, web banner ads, etc.) 30% Traditional (Radio, TV, print — highly targeted for senior audiences etc.) 10% “Innovation Fund” (“try something inexpensive and new”)⁷ 1 American Association of Museums. “TrendsWatch 2012: Museums and the Pulse of the Future.” https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2012_trendswatch.pdf 2 http://placemaking.mml.org/how-to/dia-inside-out/ 3 Charr, Manuel. “What Can We Learn From Pop-Up Museums?” Museum Next. https://www.museumnext.com/article/what-we-can-learnfrom-pop-up-museums-best-practice-and-ideas-f rom-instagram-friendly-experiences/
4 Colleen Dinen Scheider. “Real Talk: Why Cultural Organizations Must Better Engage Millennials (DATA).” https://www.colleendilen.com/2016/01/13/real-talkwhy-cultural-organizations-must-better-engag e-millennials-data/ 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Hope Agyeman, Kwasi. “ How to Setup a Museum Marketing Budget.” Museum Tech Trends. https://medium.com/museum-tech-trends/smart-museum-budget-36ade6f10c4b
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Growth of Biennales Biennales, and their otherwise timed counterparts, have been on the rise over the past 20 years for various reasons and “In 2019, about 300 biennales open[ed] globally, each presenting its own view of the world’s most important art.” ⁸ Why this is important is that the very system of art and cultural consumption is being reevaluated by cities and industries across the globe. In an effort to access the financial boosts they offer, cities are investing in these ‘Olympics of art’ to draw steady crowds to their exhibitions. While a contemporary Biennale is generally defined as an “international showcases for contemporary art taking place every two years” they offer much more to both visitors and contributors.⁹ The curator of the 2019 Sao Paulo Biennale describes them as: “... an independent foundation, to be a platform that actively promotes diversity, freedom and experimentation, while exercising critical thought and producing an alternative reality,” ¹⁰ This provides not only an interesting model to challenge potentially stagnant cultural institutions maintaining their tried and true methods curation and exhibitions, but as Biennales often call upon lesser known artists and designers for their exhibitions, they provide “an important promotional platform for a cooperating nation or a launching
pad for an individual’s career.“ ¹¹ As we’ve discussed, we want our partner institutions to rethink how they curate exhibitions in our spaces, and encourage them to utilize New York’s vast resources of upcoming artists and designers to do so. Why we find this recent increase in popularity interesting and relevant, is the possibility that the temporal nature of these events may be what’s driving their success. There were over 300 art, architecture, culture, and design biennales that opened in 2019, each representing “the worlds most important art.” ¹² This isn’t to say that before the world’s most important art was going unrecognized, rather, in the contemporary landscape the audience and their interests have increased. As our goal is to provide a swath of samplings of New York’s cultural institutions and what they have to offer, looking at how Bienales have risen in popularity was a natural step. We want our partner institutions to use our space as both a marketing tool as well as a means to showcase their offerings in new ways. As art consumers look to biennales as ways to gauge the current state of the arts globally, we want our visitors to see the current state of NYC’s institutions locally. While our programming is likely to cycle more often than every two years, we think this is appropriate due to the
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fast pace of New York both as a whole as well as culturally. Signs that this temporal model has been successful in the recent past can be seen by looking at the oldest, arguably the most well known biennale still happening today. Visitors to the Venice Biennale have been increasing year by year, as the Art and Architecture events swap every year. In its most recent iteration attendance increased by 14 percent for over 260,000 visitors. Notably, almost ¹³half of these visitors were under the age of 26. ¹⁴
What this means is that not only is the popularity of these events growing, but their patrons are potentially going to be returning for the next 50 years as they age.
8 "VENICE 2019: The Rise of the Urban Biennale By Vere van ...." https://pinupmagazine.org/articles/review-2019-venice-artbiennale-may-you-live-in-interesting-times-vere -van-gool . 9 "Art Demystified: What Defines a Biennial? - artnet News." 2 Jun. 2016, https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/art-demystified-biennials-506903 . 10 Ibid. 11 "You say Biennial, I say Biennale: 9 of Today's Most Critical ...." 6 Apr. 2017, https://archinect.com/features/article/150001297/you-saybiennial-i-say-biennale-9-of-today-s-most-critical -architecture-biennials . 12 "VENICE 2019: The Rise of the Urban Biennale By Vere van ...." https://pinupmagazine.org/articles/review-2019-venice-artbiennale-may-you-live-in-interesting-times-vere -van-gool . 13 "Venice Architecture Biennale has record year with boom ... - DW." 1 Dec. 2016, https://www.dw.com/en/venice-architecture-biennale-hasrecord-year-with-boom-in-younger-visitors/a-365 96450 . 14 Ibid.
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Site and Context Analysis
Located on a curious corner at the intersection of 34th Street, a major axis of tourist retail infrastructures, and Madison Avenue, an emerging design district supporting numerous new and established design showrooms, the museum responds to desires of tourists and New Yorkers alike through referencing the building’s unique history as a commercial department store in one of the most well connected transit areas in the city.
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Emerging Shopping & Design District 34th Street is one of the city’s foremost shopping districts. According to the 34th Street Partnership, a not-for-profit, private management company organized as a business improvement district, the street is “home to over 175 department stores, specialty shops, and national chain flagships” and “offers a huge selection of apparel, shoes, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, and more, for every taste or budget. ”15 Macy’s, of course, is the center of this commercial strip. While tourists are primarily the audience for this retail, the immediate neighborhood is also home to numerous offices--100,000 people work on 34th Street.16 The stretch of Madison Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets is, according to Metropolis Magazine, the spine of New York’s emerging design district. “ Anchored by the New York Design Center,” a high-rise on Lexington filled with designer furniture and high-end furnishings, “it has welcomed a number of design businesses, including established ones like DDC and up-andcoming initiatives like the Ernest Collective.”17 Showrooms like B&B Italia and Dutch manufacturer MOOOI, for example, look and function almost like Chelsea galleries, with high-end furniture design taking the place of art. Responding to the context of energetic commercialism and numerous designer flagships, the museum forges productive connections between art museums with design brands.
Through a few institutional/commercial partnerships, the numerous spaces in the museum leased out to member museums may be better funded. Such partnerships would eliminate the need for ticketed entry. For example, to help fund the lease for the Guggenheim’s 500sf space, it would partner with Prada who may with them on a temporary exhibition. This would be not only a smart branding opportunity for both, but also a chance to link a historic museum with the creative team of a fashion house. As a precedent, we looked to Gucci. In 2015, Minsheng Art Museum in Shanghai worked with Gucci to put on a show called “No Longer, Not
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“The ‘museum as a laboratory’ concept is focused on collaboration, co-creation, and social experiences... This new or recalibrated museum ‘platform’ becomes a playground for communities and businesses. Such approach leads to more dynamic exhibitions, supporting the creation of new works, and opportunities for participation.”19
Yet,” based on the writings of philosopher Giorgio Agamben. The fashion house and museum collaborated and commissioned artists to produce installation work which asked the question, “what is contemporary?”18 While such a nod to consumer culture may seem jarring at first, especially in a cultural institution, this museum recognizes design like fashion and furniture design as an applied art. On corporate partnerships of this nature, Brendan Ciecko of Cuseum likens it as a productive collaboration akin to a laboratory:
15 The 34th Street Partnership, https://34thstreet.org/ 16 Ibid. 17 Dora Vanette, “New York’s New Design District?,” Metropolis, June 20, 2016, https://www.metropolismag.com/cities/new-yorks-new-design-district/ 18 Alice McInerney, “What is Contemporary?: Gucci Ponders Big Questions at Shainghai’s Minsheng,” Wallpaper, October 19, 2015, https://www.wallpaper.com/art/no-longer-not-yet-gucci- xplores-thecontemporary-at-shanghais-minshen g-art-museum-shanghai#pic_1
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Tourism Corridors Located at the center of one of midtown's most visited tourist destinations, our site has the potential to tap into the 10’s of thousands of visitors already coming to the area everyday. The nearest and most notable of the many tourist destinations in the direct vicinity of our site is the Empire State Building with over 10,000 visitors daily and has even been noted as “the number one tourist attraction in the world that its users traveled to in 2019” by Uber.20 Additionally, being located between two stops on the popular “Hop Off” bus tours route, our site has the potential to draw in patrons from a pre-existing tourism corridor, drastically reducing our need to draw them in from around the city.21 As our institution is predicated on its ability to provide new ways of attracting patrons to other institutions, accessing this pre-existing and robust pool of them is paramount to both ours and our partner institutions success. As this neighborhood already has major tourism destinations, we must be aware of our ability to exist alongside our neighbors. Where the Empire State Building provides a unique experience, it is ticketed and often involves long lines and wait times. In contrast, our institution aims to be a more casual experience where patrons are encouraged to simply walk in and experience what we have to offer. This means clear visibility, low or non-existent barriers of entry, and direct signage to locate ourselves alongside our impressive peers.
While the options available for tourists in the area are vast, the Empire State Building, Macys, and The NYPL at Bryant Park, these are often imposing, crowded, cost prohibitive, and single stop destinations where you simply go, see, and head to tick the next item off your list. Our institution aims to provide a more casual experience that allows visitors that becomes a stop between destinations as opposed to a one stop destination in itself to encourage visiting our partner institutions as opposed to drawing them away from them.
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19 https://cuseum.com/blog/2019/2/25/museums-at-thecrossroads-the-role-of-corporate-partnerships 20 "The Empire State Building is Uber's top tourist destination." 3 Dec. 2019,
https://nypost.com/2019/12/03/the-empire-state-building-is-ubers-top-tourist-destination/ . 21 "New York Hop On, Hop Off Bus Routes Map | Big Bus Tours." https://www.bigbustours.com/en/new-york/new-york-routes-and-tour-maps/ .
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Transit Accessibility As our museum is being proposed as an intermediate space where visitors are encouraged to come and, following their visit, continue onto our partner institutions located all across NYC. For this to be a viable model we need to not only be easy to get to, but easy to get elsewhere from our location. With the 6 train around the block we are stops away from the Museum Mile along the upper east side giving us direct access to the cities largest institutions. Taking the train in the other direction we are also less than 30 min from The Whittney and the southern end of the High Line. Perhaps our biggest asset in terms of transportation is being one stop away from Grand Central, which is also easily walkable from our location as well. This proximity makes outlying institutions such as The Queens Museum simple to get to with only one transfer. Even closer is 34th St Herald square offering additional access to the likes of The Brooklyn Museum and the Lower East Side. 22 With walking access to the BDFM, the NQR, and either one stop or a short walk from the 456,7, and Shuttle train to Times Square and the 123, AC, and RW trains our site is accessible from anywhere in NYC, which also means anywhere is accessible from our site. With these robust transit options available to us, our best strategy is to enhance visibility and promote the ease of access to our partner institutions from our
location. This can be done with custom maps providing information on the best routes to institutions and suggested trips that include multiple institutions. In the same way our aim is to promote existing institutions, we must also promote the transit options available both to and from our site.
22 "nyct | MTA." http://www.mta.info/nyct . Accessed 11 Mar. 2020.
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Programming & Space Planni
The Market Gallery provides a sampling of the city’s numerous institutions by curating a collection of public-facing exhibition spaces which existing cultural institutions occupy in order to promote themselves, create new art, or reach out to a new audience. Like a nineteenthcentury market, this museum provides an immersive, organizing armature into which numerous other parties plug-in to produce, display, and exhibit their work. Through the inclusion (or curation) of wellestablished, historic museums alongside smaller, alternative cultural institutions and, critically, their juxtaposition on equal footing, the Market Gallery challenges the hegemony of the endowed. The museum is inspired by its unique site characteristics. Located on a curious corner at the intersection of 34th Street, a major axis of tourist retail infrastructures, and Madison Avenue, an emerging design district supporting numerous new and established design showrooms, the museum responds to desires of tourists and New Yorkers alike through referencing the building’s unique history as a commercial department store.
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ing
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Institutional Program Rotating Shows with Member Museums The Market Gallery houses ten to twenty galleries of varying sizes, configurations, shapes, and characters which are activated on a rotating basis by member museums who occupy the space for a short period of time. The Museum encourages that these varied gallery spaces be active, ever-changing, and dynamic venues. Custom, site-specific installations are preferred over static works which visitors may have already seen. The Market Gallery may occasionally develop a general mission or theme to which member museums respond; regardless the museum demands a panoply of differing curatorial voices to coexist. The institution stipulates only that all exhibition programming be temporary in order to contribute to the ever-changing nature of the experience. Like a market, the Market Gallery is a casual, dynamic space of controlled cacophony, with the numerous voices of New York’s art institutions represented in diverse, interconnected spaces.
Partnership with Fashion or Design Houses To provide an welcoming, unintimidating, low-barrier of entry, there is no ticketed admission for visitors--they are welcomed to walk in and out casually. To fund the institution and help pay for the construction of the numerous everchanging installations put up by member museums, the Market Gallery facilitates partnerships. Member museums putting on a ten-week show may partner with a fashion house or design company, both industries well-represented at this, the intersection between a major retail strip and the spine of the city’s new design district, in order to cross-pollinate different cultural and artistic disciplines and to fund the show itself. For example, the Guggenheim’s Spring 2022 exhibition is an immersive installation in a 2,000sf space at the Market Gallery. Funding comes from the Guggenheim’s innovation fund, a small portion of its marketing budget for experimental work, as well as from Prada. Their two creative teams collaborate on the design of the exhibition which promotes both their institutions, as well as provides a platform for the young artists represented in the show.
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Perpetual Opening With so many gallery spaces representing New York’s numerous cultural institutions hosting temporary exhibitions, the public spaces of the Market Gallery have the potential to be as active, dynamic, and crowded as any opening party. In fact, with at least one of the many rented gallery spaces “turning over� every week, each weekend hosts a rolling opening event party sure to generate energy. These events are busy, social functions where people mingle, eat, drink, and enjoy art. Other programming associated with each opening, such as artist talks, panel discussions, workshops, and lectures, add to the frenetic energy of the Market Gallery.
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Institutional Program Ever-Changing Lobby Design as Active Storefront. Another way to generate variety and to draw in visitors from the street is to use the entry lobby as another opportunity for ephemeral art. The space is highly visible from the street so eye-catching design which changes from year to year, like a design or fashion showroom window, would help draw people in. Active Interior Street The main public circulation spine which links all of the public galleries is to act as a true extension of the streetscape. There is no front desk nor ticketing nor obtrusive security scans. A low barrier of entry is crucial in easing the boundary between the space of the street and that of the galleries. This space is scaled generously with small opportunities for seating placed in clusters throughout.
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Pop-Up F&B Just as the Market Gallery welcomes numerous diverse voices in the curation of numerous simultaneous shows by different institutions, the food and drink venues also provide diversity and variety. While for efficiency, they share a common prep space, storage, and BOH kitchen, approximately three different pop-up restaurants, rotating seasonally, may occupy the dining area and act as a small, casual food hall for visitors of the museum. Casual, communal tables bring people together. Coffee as well as alcohol sales assure this space is active from the morning to the evening.
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Institutional Program Artist Studio Programs Another way member museums may represent themselves while supporting local, emerging talent is through sponsoring young art practices in a number of small studios in the mezzanine level of the Market Gallery. This is a year-long fellowship for New York based artists which concludes in an exhibition. Like in the Museum of Art and Design uptown, these spaces will occasionally be open to the public.
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Event Pit A triple-height space which links spatially, visually, and experientially all public levels of the museum (the basement, level one, and the mezzanine) the Event Pit, which the lobby entry overlooks from level 1, is the heart of the institution. This space hosts the main events of the perpetual openings and is a dynamic, active space with access to the pop-up cafes, toilettes, and galleries. It’s naturally daylit from the storefront windows above.
“Departure Desk” Rather than a front desk for ticketing, which will reduce the openness of the public interior street, the Museum’s circulation promenade concludes with a “departure desk,” which will direct visitors to the cultural institutions represented in the numerous shows in the galleries. It’s a way of nodding back to these institutions, making sure visitors are equipped with information which will increase the odds they’ll, for example, take the train uptown to the Jewish Museum after seeing its installation at the Market Museum.
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Space Program The Market Gallery is situated within approximately 91,000sf in an early twentieth-century department store. The space includes a 45,000sf basement with limited daylight, a 13,000sf first floor with storefront glazing on both Madison Avenue and 34th Street, a 13,000sf proposed mezzanine level, and a 20,000sf second level with generous glazing on its perimeter. The main entry is located near the main corner for maximum street-frontage and pedestrian visibility, and overlooks a grand, tripleheight space which links basement, first floor, and mezzanine levels.
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Space Program Galleries (5) 100 sqft (3) 250 sqft (5) 500 sqft (3) 1500 sqft, (3) 2,000 sqft As described above these are flexible and rotating exhibit spaces. Their varied sizes may also become double height to promote internal circulation furthering the stalls potential to promote it’s institution in ever-changing ways. As they are constantly in flux the fit out is originally white wall gallery space with minimal finishes. Event Pit 3,500 sqft This is a triple height space flooded with glass acting as the main center of the space. As visitors move around the Market Galleries they always return to this space. As this is also the main rental space it is located near the pop F&B as well as the bar, restrooms, and flexible lounge spaces.
Pop-Up Restaurant Counters & Kitchen 2,000 sqft These spaces have a shared back kitchen that feeds onto a counter service food option for visitors. It's proximity to the end of the visitors path and the departure desk is an effort to ensure our visitors get a full experience before relaxing and enjoying their meals should they choose to have them here. Pop-Up Bar 750 sqft Located off the main event space this area is to serve coffee and refreshment during normal operating hours and switch to a full service bar for special events and openings. Level 0 45,000 sqft
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Space Program Entry Vestibule & Lobby 1,500 sqft Large and easy to open doors leading into an open, glazed vestibule. No steps and minimal grade change to allow for easy flow from the street. The lobby is narrow to allow light to filter into the atrium space as well as provide visibility from the street to the museum inside. This leads directly to a curated lounge space also visible from the street. There is no check in space or lobby desk. Interior Street (Main Public Circulation) This path starts at the lobby and circulates through the galleries and brings visitors to the grand circulation and elevators to continue their experience at the Market. It is structured, albeit meandering to promote the idea of a marketplace.
Curated Lounge(s) (2) 1,500 sqft (2) 500 sqft These areas are scattered through the space to allow visitors moments of respite during their visit. As they are also rotating exhibits their accessibility off the main circulation is paramount to imply their inclusion in the concept of the museum. “Departure Desk� 250 sqft This is located at the end of the internal street and is the main point of contact for visitors and administration. This is intentional as our main goal is for visitors to continue on to our partner institutions. Level 1 13,000 sqft
Vertical Circulation [Figural Stair(s) 500 sqft Adjacent to the main atrium this is how visitors will move from floor to floor. It also leads to the artists studio mezzanine and will be open to the public fully on specified times. We want this stair to express grandeur and really be the only permanent art piece in the museum. Coat Check & Locker Area 300 sqft Located right off the lounge and lobby space this area is meant to be self-serve during normal operating hours and transition to a served counter for special events.
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Group 5. Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
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Space Program Artist Studios (5) 250 sqft (4) 500 sqft Located on the mezzanine level these spaces will receive direct light through large street facing windows. They also open onto the atrium which is an effort to ensure their inclusivity in the overall programming of the museum. Artist Shop Space 750 sqft Artist Storage Space 300 sqft Level 1.5 13,000 sqft
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Group 5. Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
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Space Program Fixed Office Space (Market Offices) 2,500 sqft (Market Meeting Rooms) 1,000 sqft This space is one of the only ones dedicated solely to our institution as the rest is shared among our partner institutions and artists. We want this space to be a respite for our administration teams as the inherent function of our institution is chaotic and constantly in flux. Flex Office Space (Open Office) 2,500 sqft (3 Meeting Rooms) 1,500 sqft This space essentially functions as no defunct we work for our partner institutions. Think of it as a remote office location for curators, planners, and artists from our partner institutions. Canteen & Lounge 3,500 sqft An collective canteen if you will, this space is a mixer for our admin and our partner institutions. We want this to be a casual break room and kitchen to foster strong relationships between teams. Storage Space 1,000 sqft Level 20 20,000 sqft
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Group 5. Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
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Design Goals & References Interior Street
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Group 5. Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
Fünf Höfe, Munich
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Interior Street
Morgan Library, New York
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Group 5. Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
Chelsea Market, New York
Fünf Höfe, Munich
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Flexible "Generic" Design
The Centre Pompidou, Paris
Tate Modern, London 50
Group 5. Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
s
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Figural Stair & High Atrium
The Guggenheim, New York
Studio Museum, Ne 52
Group 5. Marco Piscitelli & Ben Gillis
Everson Museum, Syracuse
ew York
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