Meet the new center of the American Museum of Natural History in New York

The American Museum of Natural History has released photos of the progress of construction on the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation , which is rapidly taking shape in steel, glass, and sprayed concrete. The images highlight the imposing, light-filled spaces that will house the Gilder Center public starting February 17, 2023. With its more than 20,000 m² and architecture designed by Studio Gang – the renowned international architecture and design firm headed by Jeanne Gang –, the Gilder Center was conceived to invite people to explore the fascinating relationships between the species that make up life on Earth. , while highlighting all the rich connections between the Museum’s collections, research projects, educational programs, and exhibition galleries. Physically, the Gilder Center connects several buildings of the American Museum of Natural History, creating an expanded campus that spans four New York blocks, bringing to life the concept first envisioned for the project more than 150 years ago. “In its exhibitions and programs—and "And in the striking architecture that presents them to the world, the Gilder Center combines evidence-based thinking with experiences that transform our perceptions and capture the essence of scientific exploration and innovation," says Ellen V. Futter , President of the Museum. The Center's exhibition space was conceived by design firm Ralph Appelbaum Associates and will feature a series of distinct spaces. The Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium , a large four-story civic space, will serve as the Museum's new gateway. for those arriving from Columbus Avenue. The Atrium opens onto Theodore Roosevelt Park, creating a pathway that leads directly to the western edge of Central Park. The elegant and imposing curves and recesses of the space are the Gilder Center's calling card for those arriving , encouraging people to explore space. The David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Research Library and Learning Space will provide access to the Museum Library’s parallel study resources. With a panoramic view to the west, the fourth floor will be open to the public and will include a new reading area, an exhibition area, a group study room and a space for people to simply relax and read a little or browse the book collection. The venue will also offer a full programme of events and exhibitions that talk about history of science through the Museum's collections, such as the Rare Book Collection, among other activities. The Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Center features a vertical structure with three floors of floor-to-ceiling exhibits representing each thematic area of the Museum's collections - vertebrate and invertebrate biology, paleontology, geology, anthropology, and archaeology - with artifacts ranging from fossil tracks to trilobites, horns to ceramic objects. The Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium is the Museum’s first gallery in more than 50 years dedicated to the most diverse group of animals on Earth. Featuring live and pinnate insects and graphic and digital displays, the Insectarium will feature specimens from many of the world’s most diverse animal species. 30 orders of insects and will explore the vital roles insects play in different ecosystems. Giant models of bees suspended from the ceiling will guide visitors through the gallery toward a colossal beehive at the west end. Along the way, visitors will pass a suspended glass corridor built to serve as a route for live leafcutter ants, transforming the site into one of the largest displays of the species in the world.

At the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium , which is nearly 300 m² in size and open all year round, you can interact with up to 80 species of butterflies in free flight - and sometimes even feel one landing on you. The gallery will offer the opportunity to stroll through a series of winding microenvironments to observe butterflies, one of nature's most important environmental "thermometers." It will also be possible to identify butterflies through plates with an illustrated card for each species in flight, updated daily. Invisible Worlds , an extraordinary 360-degree immersive experience that combines science and art, was designed by Berlin-based Tamschick Media+Space and Seville-based Boris Micka Associates, who worked closely with data visualization experts and scientists from the Museum and around the world. the world to create the experience. The space begins with an introductory gallery designed by the Museum's Exhibitions Department, which then flows into a second 1200 m² space with mirrors suspended from the ceiling and 7 m high walls that fill the space with projections on all scales, generating a whole that creates the impression of infinity.

Architectural project

Studio Gang’s design for the Gilder Center connects new and existing galleries in ways that highlight the intellectual connections between different areas of science, with flowing curves, recesses, windows, and bridges inspired by natural formations that suggest exploration, connection, and discovery. The central location of the Gerstner Collections Center —a five-story vertical structure with three floors of exhibits showcasing a variety of collections and allowing people to view directly into collection preparation spaces—emphasizes the role of scientific collections as the foundation from which from which scientific knowledge is formed. Realized in collaboration with executive architect Davis Brody Bond , the Gilder Center creates approximately 30 connections between ten existing buildings (including the newly opened Allison and Roberto Mignone Gem and Mineral Halls), greatly improving visitor circulation and eliminating dead ends. . The Griffin Atrium opens onto Theodore Roosevelt Park , creating a new pathway for visitors from Central Park West and offering yet another invitation for people to explore all that the American Museum of Natural History has to offer. Once inside the Atrium, people encounter a canyon-shaped space with bridges and openings that connect them - physically and visually - on multiple levels to the new exhibition galleries, educational spaces and collections, conveying a constant sense of discovery. This space, like much of the Gilder Center, has its base constructed with concrete sprayed directly onto rebar, without the traditional molding work . This technique, known as shotcrete (or "projected concrete"), was invented by Carl Akeley, a naturalist and taxidermist at the Museum. Once cured, the concrete is finished by hand, demonstrating the fluidity of the material. The verticality of the Griffin Atrium also serves as a key aspect of the building’s sustainability, allowing natural light and air circulation into the heart of the building’s interior. Large skylights bring daylight into the innermost parts of the campus, while The height allows the introduction of air conditioning at ground level, reducing cooling demand. The Gilder Center’s Columbus Avenue facade will be clad in pink Milford granite—the same stone used for the museum’s Central Park West entrance—connecting the two sides of the American Museum of Natural History campus. The stones are arranged in panels three-dimensional structures that together create an undulating facade. The diagonal pattern evokes both the geological layers of the Earth and the richly textured, sinuous surface of the Museum’s masonry structure that faces 77th Street. The high-performance building has a stone cladding that, together with the design of the windows and the use of shade trees, will help to keep the building naturally cool in the summer. The park-like landscape is highly water-efficient, with adaptive vegetation and an irrigation system that reuses rainwater collected in the building.