Despite protests from preservationists and architects, the Museum of Modern Art finalized their decision today to demolish the old American Folk Art Museum building in Manhattan to make way for an upcoming expansion project. The plans were originally announced in April of 2013, but when there was opposition they decided to leave the decision of whether or not to incorporate the Tod Williams and Billie Tsien-designed building into the expansion plan to the firm in charge behind the project, Diller Scofidio + Renfro. According to the Wall Street Journal, on January 8 the firm told MoMA's board of trustees that the building "couldn't be preserved without rebuilding much of its interior and undermining its architectural integrity."
Upon hearing the decision, Williams and Tsien told the Journal that it was a "missed opportunity to find new life and purpose for a building that is meaningful to so many...Demolishing this human‐scaled, uniquely crafted building is a loss to the City of New York in terms of respecting the size, diversity and texture of buildings in a midtown neighborhood that is at risk of becoming increasingly homogenized."
MoMA's expansion will give the museum another 125,000 square feet of space, in which they plan to add another entrance, expand their lobby, and add two new performance/exhibition spaces. The project is slated to take four-five years to complete but we don't know the exact demolition day for the Folk Museum structure. You might want to go take pictures of it as soon as possible.
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[via WSJ]
