Mus. of Stored Art

A proposal for a Museum of Stored Art in Chelsea, Manhattan.

Four adjacent buildings are reconfigured and restored to house facilities for the storage of private and non-private art, with adjacent public and private spaces for display and sale of art.

The proliferation of private art collections, the lack of sufficient spaces of public and communal activity, and the democratization of art viewing have fostered an environment in which our proposal for a Museum of Stored Art is both timely and important.

Working with four contiguous under-developed buildings adjacent to the ‘Highline’ in Chelsea, we have explored the multiple design facets of a building that straddles the boundary between private art collection and public art viewing.

We have studied the nuanced and challenging needs of storage of significant works of art and the delicate but rewarding benefit of publicly displaying both the ‘art of storage’ and the stored art.

In one scoop, by providing a space for private art collections to be viewed publicly, we connect the philanthropic intents of individuals with a public need, benefitting a community and its individuals.

The need for this type of building became evident as we began to design spaces for the collections of our clients. At the same time, our Chelsea office is next to one of the premiere art-storage facilities in the USA. We began to wonder what is contained in this storage building? And how wonderful it would be for the public to be able to see curated shows cross-referencing various collections.

The following images are the result of our initial foray into understanding the needs of such a building, its complex security concerns, and its incredible art-viewing opportunities.