October 13, 2011 by Mark H. Anbinder
Enjoying a spectacular view of West Campus, downtown Ithaca, the Cayuga Lake inlet, the surrounding hills, and the lake itself, the Johnson Museum building has been likened to a giant sewing machine, set back from the south edge of Fall Creek Gorge. This weekend, Cornell's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art celebrates the grand opening of a new wing based on I. M. Pei's original intent that the building have an underground wing extending north toward the gorge.
Construction on the Johnson Museum progresses this spring. 14850 file photo.The grand opening this Saturday afternoon, October 15th, from 1-5pm, will feature a concert by the Sim Redmond Band from 3-5. The event marks the completion of a massive renovation and expansion project that took over a year longer than planned, from a groundbreaking around the time of the building's 35th anniversary in the spring of 2008.
I. M. Pei's original concept for the building featured underground floors stretching not only underneath the lawn to the building's north, but under University Avenue right to the edge of the gorge. Early drawings showed underground windows overlooking Fall Creek near the Suspension Bridge.
An artist's rendering of the new wing. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP/Gil Gorski Architectural Illustration courtesy of Johnson Museum.Modern structural and environmental concerns didn't allow the Museum to expand quite that far. The above- and below-ground extension has been designed by the original building's architects at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, including the original architect-in-charge, Cornell alumnus John L. Sullivan, III.
The new wing adds about 16,000 total square feet to the Museum's previous 61,000 square feet. The addition, the building's first since it opened in 1973, features a 150-seat lecture room, a workshop studio, gallery space, art storage, and office space, as well as a Japanese garden in the space to the west of the structure. At the same time, Cornell renovated the existing building to provide additional exhibition space, a study center and photographic study room, and a seminar room.
Visitors this weekend will also have the opportunity to meet Stephanie Wiles, announced last month as the next Richard J. Schwartz Director of the Johnson Museum. As the outgoing director of Oberlin College's Allen Memorial Art Museum since 2004, Wiles oversaw a major renovation and art-storage expansion project there. A specialist in Old Master drawings and prints and British and American art, Wiles replaces Franklin W. Robinson, who's just retired after nineteen years as the Museum's second director.
Parking near the museum is limited for Saturday afternoon's event, but a free shuttle will run from Cornell's Hoy Road parking garage and the City of Ithaca's Seneca Street parking ramp. Call 255-6464 for more info.
