Site & Context Analysis Emerging Shopping & Design District Tourism Corridors Transit Accessibility

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.

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

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:

“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

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

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.

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/ .

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.