MOMA Reveals Swingline Plans - new facility for Museum of Modern Art in former factory - Brief Article

Art in America, Jan, 2001 by Stephanie Cash

New York's Museum of Modern Art recently revealed design plans for its new facility in Long Island City, Queens. MOMA will set up shop in the former Swingline factory at 45-20 33rd Street, just off Queens Boulevard, once construction at its Manhattan location precludes mounting exhibitions there sometime in late 2002 [see "Artworld," Mar. '00]. The cost for the entire Queens project is estimated at $28.7 million, including the building's purchase price. Los Angeles architect Michael Maltzan was selected to revamp the Queens space. The relatively young Maltzan, 41, designed the Getty Information Institute Digital Laboratory and is currently working on an expansion of the Armand Hammer Museum.

The Queens building is located just a few subway stops on the E or F train from MOMA's Manhattan headquarters. Riders can take several different lines to get there, but those taking the elevated No. 7 train from midtown will first see the museum's logo on the roof of the otherwise low-lying structure. (The original neon Swingline sign, which featured an active mechanical stapler, was torn down in 1999 despite local efforts to preserve it as an urban icon.) About 25,000 square feet of the 140,000-square-foot building will be used as gallery space for parts of the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. Other public spaces include a cafe and gift shop.

When MOMA's midtown expansion is complete, the Swingline facility will be used to house parts of the museum's library and archives, framing and conservation workshops and for storage space, among other things.

MOMA's $650-million midtown plan faced early opposition from area residents concerned about traffic congestion in an already commercially dense area, but the design by Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi won final approval from the City Planning Commission in mid-October.