Guggenheim Facade Study

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TitleGuggenheim Facade Study

Architect Charles Gwathmey (American, 1938 - 2009)

Date1982

MediumGraphite and red pencil on tracing paper

DimensionsSheet size: 18 x 21 in. Mat size: 20 1/2 × 23 1/4 in.

SignedSigned in red pencil at upper right: "Guggenheim Museum / New York N.Y. / 3·15·82 / Charles Gwathmey".

SubmissionNA diploma presentation, September 21, 2005

Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY

Object number2005.23

Label TextA principal of the architectural firm, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Charles Gwathmey received his master of architecture from Yale University in 1962 and since then his innovative public and private buildings have garnered both critical and popular acclaim. Gwathmey has held numerous teaching positions at Cooper Union, Pratt Institute and elsewhere and has won various awards including the Medal of Honor from the New York chapter of the AIA (1983) and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Society of Architects (1990) among others. Gwathmey Siegel & Associates' design philosophy strives to synthesize the practical needs of architecture with the dynamism of reinvigorating the urban landscape.

In 1982, Gwathmey was given the Herculean task of designing an addition to one of the most recognizable edifices in New York, Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum. Wright's unconventional design made it particularly difficult to achieve a discrete and harmonious addition. The ingenious solution was to create a design that acknowledges both Wright's proposed annex of 1949-52 and William Wesley Peters' annex. This drawing shows the addition in both street-level elevation and as an isometric view from above. The Guggenheim project contains 51,000 square feet of new and renovated gallery space, 15,000-square-feet of new office space, a restored theater, new restaurant, and retrofitted support and storage spaces. It remains one of Gwathmey Siegel's most celebrated and acclaimed endeavors.

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