Met Plaza to Receive Facelift

By [Laura Shin] The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently announced it is in the early design stages of a complete overhaul of its famous Fifth Avenue plaza. â??This exciting new outdoor environment will provide the perfect complement to the majestic spaces and exceptional collections found within the building, said Thomas P. Campbell, director of the museum, in a statement. The museum announced that it has named OLIN, an award-winning landscape architecture and urban design firm in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, to lead the way in redesigning and rebuilding the four-block-long plaza. One of the main features of the project is the design and installation of all new fountains, replacing the present fountains that have been in place since 1970. The existing fountains were long dormant and only recently repaired so that they would work, but they still suffer from long-term problems such as piping issues and natural deterioration over time, said Harold Holzer, senior vice president of external affairs. Requiring advance planning, design and formal approvals from community and citywide agencies, the project is estimated for completion by 2015. A construction schedule has not yet been developed, but is projected to last about two years. â??Once we have developed a design proposal, we look forward to presenting it to forums and decision-makers at all levels of government, starting with our neighbors and our community board, said Emily Rafferty, president of the museum. Holzer said the museum will likely begin presenting a design proposal in late 2011 or early 2012. The project will not affect the museum"s steps, which were recently reinstalled to improve the granite paving and install ice-melting technology underneath. Holzer said aside from the steps, the last change made to the plaza was the addition of the kiosks along the curb five years ago. Another goal of the project is to improve access to the museum"s 81st Street and 83rd Street entrances. â??We have more than 5 million people visit a year and they all walk up the front steps, Holzer said. â??It"s difficult to direct people to 81st Street. The 81st Street entrance is used for school groups and visitors with disabilities, but all visitors are welcome to use the entrance. The 83rd Street entrance is primarily used for access to concerts and events at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, but Holzer said it could potentially be a third entrance for museum visitors. More than 30 leading landscape and building architects around the world were reviewed by a special museum committee before they selected OLIN. The design firm is responsible for the redesign of Bryant Park, the New York Public Library terrace, Columbus Circle and Battery Park City. The initial phase of design work for the project has been funded via a grant by David H. Koch, the statement said.