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Pictorial> Here's your first glimpse inside Renzo Piano's new Whitney Museum

Pictorial> Here's your first glimpse inside Renzo Piano's new Whitney Museum

On May 1, the southern terminus of the High Line will have a true anchor tenant. Renzo Piano‘s towering new Whitney Museum for American Art will throw open its glass doors—or at least unlock the revolving ones—as tourists and eager New Yorkers alike throng in for a look around the highly anticipated gallery spaces. Until then, here’s a peek at the the museum, inside and out, from a press junket on Thursday.

Inside, a lobby space clad on three sides in a crystal-clear glass curtain wall fills the museum with natural light. The museum’s restaurant, Untitled, and its gift store flow seamlessly through the space. Elevators whisk visitors to the galleries above.

At the top, a series of skylights diffuse light into gallery spaces and a large outdoor terrace extends from another cafe. A series of highly detailed catwalks provides views of the High Line, New York’s skyline, and the museum itself. The overlapping outdoor spaces connected by stairways will surely be a highlight of many high-design soirees in years to come.

Moving through the galleries, the museum’s white walls and grey metal grids are contrasted with a light natural wood floor. An internal stairway featuring a waterfall of cascading light bulbs guides visitors down through the museum. Take a look at the gallery below for a look of AN’s tour through the Whitney on Thursday.

Watch for your next print issue of The Architect’s Newspaper, where we’ll publish our full critique of the museum and delve into its history.

[All images by Branden Klayko / AN.]

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