Johnson Museum of Art | New Wing 

Cornell University 

LERA was the structural engineer for a new 17,000-sf addition to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, as well as renovations to the existing 5-story, 60,000-sf facility. Originally designed by I.M. Pei in 1973, the new wing adds a dramatic new sculptural glass-and-concrete entryway and lobby, gallery space, art storage, office space, workshop studios and a 150-seat lecture hall. The site’s sloping topography allows daylight to penetrate down to the gallery level, providing views throughout of a Japanese garden set into the hillside. Linked to the main building on two levels below grade, the addition’s separate entry makes it possible to host events without having to open the museum in its entirety. A 6,000-sf renovation to the 5th Floor expanded gallery space for the Asian art collection by 50%.

Location

Ithaca, NY

 

Client  

Cornell University

 

Architect

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

 

Awards 

Award of Excellence, 2015

Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), New York Council

 

Design of Honor Award, 2014

American Institute of Architects New York (AIA NY)

 

The International Architecture Award, 2013

Chicago Athenaeum / European Centre

 

The American Architecture Award, 2013

Chicago Athenaeum

 

Award of Merit – Out of Area, 2013

Concrete Industry Board (CIB)

 

Gold Medal, 2012

American Concrete Institute (ACI), Central New York Chapter

 

Preservation Award, 2012

Historic Ithaca