Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

2014
Thinc Design / Diller Scofidio + Renfro
New York, NY

17,000 GSF

Museums & Galleries
Exhibitions
Restorations

After a three-year renovation, the Cooper Hewitt re-opened in 2014 with 60% more gallery space and much-needed upgrades. The transformation of the Carnegie Mansion into a 21st-century museum respects the character of the landmark building, while restoring key elements to their original grandeur.

For the first time the entire second floor will be dedicated to showcasing the permanent collection with a variety of exhibitions including ‘Making Design’, ‘Hewitt Sisters Collect’, ‘Passion for the Exotic: Lockwood de Forest’, ‘Frederic Church’, ‘Models & Prototypes’ and the ‘Immersion Room’, which features an extraordinary collection of wall coverings, allowing visitors to select their favorites or create their own designs with a pen, and then project them onto the walls surrounding them at full scale.

RDG provided lighting design services for the exhibition spaces as well as the revitalized gift shop and café – working with modern and customized historical fixtures to compliment the balance between old and new. Working with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, RDG designed integrated lighting for the exhibition display systems as well as overhead illumination solutions in the Museum’s renovated 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor galleries. The project attained LEED Silver status.