NEW YORK.-The much-anticipated design for the new home of the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) at Two Columbus Circle was unveiled in its first public presentation at the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place in downtown Manhattan. The exhibition “Two Columbus Circle (plus): Museum of Arts & Design and Allied Works Architecture” will remain on view through December 31, 2005, and will be accompanied by a series of public forums and discussions.

“Two Columbus Circle (plus)” traces the conceptual development of the design for MAD by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture and will include a detailed preview of the new facilities, which will anchor the southwestern corner of Central Park. To contextualize the project within Allied Works Architecture’s incorporation of daylight into an exhibition space – a challenge for many cultural facilities – the exhibition will also present the firm’s conceptual designs currently being developed for the Seattle Art Museum and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

Mr. Cloepfil’s vision for MAD’s new home will provide new galleries for the Museum’s permanent collections and special exhibitions, artist studios and classrooms, public spaces and service areas, and museum offices. The design necessitates the removal of certain interior and exterior building features, including the deteriorating facade, which will be re-clad in opaque glass and terracotta—materials that express the Museum’s craft traditions. The exhibition will detail the transformation of the building—which had been vacant and in decline since the departure of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in 1997—into a state-of-the-art, light-filled museum that will house MAD’s growing collections and programs.

In addition to the architect’s models and drawings, the exhibition will include samples of the terracotta and glass that will clad the building’s exterior. Oldcastle Glass has donated the models and glass for this exhibition, as well as the glass that will clad Two Columbus Circle.

“We are extremely excited about this exhibition, which will demonstrate Brad Cloepfil’s visionary new design for the building, one that complements the collections and exhibitions that are at the heart of MAD’s mission,” said Holly Hotchner, Director of the Museum. “With an increased demand for additional public programs and an actively expanding permanent collection, our need for more space is acute. We are thrilled with the design for our new home and are grateful to the AIA New York Chapter for allowing us to share it with the public in this special way.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Allied Works to share what we are accomplishing with the transformation of Two Columbus Circle,” noted Brad Cloepfil. “We are contributing to the revitalization of an important urban space, opening it to the public, and creating a powerful, engaging and beautiful piece of contemporary architecture.”

“The Center for Architecture was created with exhibitions like this in mind,” said Susan Chin, FAIA, AIA New York Chapter President. “We want this to be the place where architecture and the built environment can be displayed and debated--not just by individuals in the design community, but by everyone who is affected by it.”

Through a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Two Columbus Circle issued by the City of New York, the Museum of Arts & Design was chosen in June 2002 to purchase and renovate the building. MAD will purchase the building for $17 million, and it is anticipated that work on the building will begin before the end of 2005.