Museum awarded 2022 Best of Design for Interior-Institutional by The Architect’s Newspaper
The Architect’s Newspaper (AN), a leading publication in the world of architects, designers, and those interested in the built urban environment, has awarded Bronx Children’s Museum the 2022 Best of Design in the category of Interior-Institutional. AN’s Best of Design Awards celebrates outstanding built and unbuilt architectural projects in a range of categories, from cultural destinations to temporary installations.
Entrants are invited to submit completed works in 50 categories that reflect AN’s editorial coverage, as well as the interests and obsessions of their readers. Winners were announced on December 14, 2022.
Bronx Children’s Museum’s space was designed by O’Neill McVoy Architects and carried out by A Quest Corporation. The project was managed by NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) for NYC Parks, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and the Museum.
“We’re honored that Bronx Children’s Museum won AN’s Best of Design Interior-Institutional, says architect Beth O’Neill. “Thank you to The Architect’s Newspaper, the jury, our incredible client - Bronx Children’s Museum - and the whole team.”
As described by the Department of Design and Construction, natural materials are used throughout the Museum including wood, stone, cork, linoleum and glass. Soft blue and green colors create a natural palette for the Museum’s exhibitions. The sky-blue acoustical plaster ceiling compliments the grounded warm wood. Translucent guardrails are made of recycled acrylic molded into curved panels. The walls, partitions, and elevated floors are made of cross-laminated timber (CLT), fabricated with advanced digital technology allowing for varying radii arcs to form organic space.
“The materials are simple, but curving CLT can be challenging. The blending and meeting of the different materials with the organic CLT curves is done very well here,” says AN Design Award’s jury member Felecia Davis, Associate Professor at the Stuckeman Center for Design and Computation, Pennsylvania State University
Architect Chris McVoy commented, “The space remains open and accessible throughout, while the movement up and through the space by ramps, delineated by partial height exhibit walls, creates focused areas of interest. The low partitions maximize visibility for caregivers while creating a rich and diverse spatial experience for the children. Curved wooden and translucent acrylic partitions diverge, reconnect and spiral to create both continuity and separation between the exhibition spaces. A “cloud” mezzanine with interactive projections, and an artist loft, are raised up to expand the exhibition space and a studio serves as a classroom and community room. The Museum was designed according to the NYC Active Design Guidelines to promote physical activity. Built-in benches offer rest areas for children and caregivers along the way.”
“Architects O’Neill McVoy understood just what we envisioned from the beginning – a combination of a fine arts museum space and a children’s museum that emulates a natural landscape with all its beauty, twists and turns, surprises and diversity,” said Bronx Children’s Museum Founding Executive Director, Carla Precht. “The space reflects the fluidity of water which is an overarching theme throughout the Museum exhibits, space, experiences and programming. The children of the Bronx only deserve the best and we think we have achieved just that: an unforgettable, beautiful space they will be proud of and will enjoy for years to come.”
"Everywhere you turn, there’s something to see or do and the space has been thoughtfully and beautifully designed easily making it one of the crown jewels of the artistic and cultural tapestry that makes up our borough." — Ed García Conde of Welcome2TheBronx