Whitney Unveils Renzo Piano Design for Downtown Space

NEW YORK—The Whitney Museum of American Art has unveiled its design, by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, for its new downtown branch.

Spanning six floors and 185,000 square feet on Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking district, the new location near the renovated High Line Park will give the museum an additional 50,000 square feet in which to display its collection of 20th and 21st century art. The current home, on Madison Avenue, encompasses a total 32,000 square feet of exhibition space.

In addition, the downtown location, which will bear a striking cantilevered entrace, will include several rooftop galleries on different levels, allowing for outdoor exhibitions, as well as new education and conservation facilities, a theater, and a multipurpose space for new media and performance art.

The museum has announced a campaign to raise $680 million in funds to cover the construction of the new space and bolster the museum's endowment. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2009; the museum is projected to open in late 2012.