CORNING, New York — The new Contemporary Art and Design Wing of the Corning Museum of Glass features the striking contrasts of a new 26,000-square-foot minimalist white contemporary art gallery with the black metal exterior of a new 500-seat glassmaking demonstration area.
Thomas Phifer and Partners designed the contemporary art gallery with a facade of large white glass panels and a white interior of large curvilinear concrete walls to create a new standard for how contemporary glass works are displayed.
A sophisticated light-filtering system uses diffusing roof skylights, to provide the majority of the lighting. A 150-foot-long window wall along the north side provides views of a new one-acre campus green.
“The minimal exterior of the gallery building promises a tranquil and illuminating experience inside,” said Phifer.
The new contemporary gallery will feature more than 70 works from the museum’s permanent collection, including large-scale works that have never before been on view due to space restrictions in the current contemporary glass gallery.
The gallery contrasts with the new glassmaking area in a renovated former Steuben Glass factory ventilator building. The area features retractable banked seating and a gallery-level balcony that offers 360-degree views of the glassmaking.
The $64 million project also includes relocated and improved parking for motorcoach groups.
