Parrish Art Museum breaks ground for Herzog & de Meuron-designed facility

The ground breaking ceremony for the Parrish Art Museum’s new building was held on July 19, 2010. The new 3,200 square meters facility by Herzog & de Meuron will triple the museum's exhibition space and allow for the simultaneous installation of its distinguished permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. Herzog & de Meuron first presented the design of the scheme in 2006, envisaging the new museum facility as a cluster of buildings. In response to the Parrish’s demand to re-conceptualize the design and to create a more modest scheme, the architectural practice has presented a new scheme in a reduced budget. The new design of the facility that will be placed on a 14-acre site embodies responsiveness to the indigenous landscape, an emphasis on the natural northern light, and a dialogue with the local architecture of the East End, especially many artists’ studios in the area. According to the Parrish Art Museum, the new design is flexible, sustainable, and economically achievable. The new building will feature two parallel poured concrete wings and a continuous sheltered porch. A 1,000 square meter of flexible exhibition space, 400 square meter space for special exhibitions and 700 square meters for installations from the museum’s permanent collections are also featured. Administrative offices, education spaces, a shop and a café are other elements. The scheme was granted site plan approval by the Town of Southampton Planning Board in November. It is due to be completed in 2012.