Project of the Year - Interiors

The Skyscraper Museum

After six years of wandering, the Skyscraper Museum finally opened a permanent home at the southern tip of Manhattan in April. The first and only museum dedicated to the past, present, and future of skyscrapers and skylines is on the ground floor of the 38-story Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Condominiums tower.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of this project is that contractors donated all services for this extensive fit-out. New York-based Millennium Partners, the developer at 39 Battery Park, provided the space, and the Battery Park City Authority leases it rent-free to the museum. New York-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP contributed architectural and engineering services while Tishman Construction Corp. of New York donated construction management services.

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Though donated, the services came in at high quality, because of the standards set by the museum director's concept. The limited 6,000 sq. ft. space needed to house two galleries, offices, and a museum store.

To achieve a more expansive feel, the project team decided to use an unconventional flooring and ceiling material - mirror-polished stainless steel. To maintain the "vertical Versailles" mirror effect, the flatness of the floor panels was critical.

Hence, the project managers turned to the stainless steel experts at the Nickel Institute as well as fabricators in both the United States and Japan. Following their advice, the team located a Japan-based firm that produced one composite panel type for the floor - durable stainless steel plate material and aluminum honeycomb backup - and one composite panel type for the ceiling - stainless steel sheet material for lightness with a thin honeycomb backup.

When visitors enter the museum at street level, they ascend a curving ramp that leads to the main gallery level. A second ramp leads from the gallery to workrooms on the mezzanine. The jury noted that the ramps and reflections combine to create an illusion of lofty buildings within a skyline and the sensation of being in a more expansive, multilevel space.

"The design solution of a ramped circulation path with mirrored surfaces make the most of the relatively small space assigned to the museum," one panel member said.

The existing building structure supports the concrete slab mezzanine. The 16 ft. 6 in. clear measurement of the space required a minimum depth of construction for the mezzanine. Void areas beneath the ramps serve as air plenums for a low-velocity displacement air system that allows the reflective ceiling to remain free of debris and reduces operating noise within the galleries.

Another intricate task was installing the floor panels. The team used a raised computer floor-type system, which provided a perfectly flat substrate and yielded undistorted reflections within the museum.

Funding for the project came from various sources, including public authorities such as the New York City Council, the Battery Park City Authority, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the office of Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields. Corporate, foundation, and private funds also contributed toward the total construction tab of $3.1 million. Pending further funding, another phase approved by the New York City Art Commission awaits - installation of a large-scale, stainless steel "light box" entrance.