Stony Creek granite used for new Statue of Liberty Museum
For the new Statue of Liberty Museum the design team at FXCollaborative upheld tradition and chose Stony Creek granite for the open public space, as it had been used for the base of the Statue of Liberty more than a century ago
Considered to be the most monumental addition to Liberty Island since the Statue herself, the new Statue of Liberty Museum opened to the public on May 16, 2019. The museum was built with three components – accessibility, education and sustainability – in mind, and permits 4.3 million annual visitors access without restrictive security clearances. And at the heart of the facility’s design is Stony Creek granite, which fits with the sustainable design objective, as well as historically connecting to the Statue of Liberty, as it was used for it pedestal more than 100 years ago.
The museum’s design was the work of FXCollaborative, located in New York, NY, who was invited to take part in a design competition and interview process by the National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty Foundation. “We went through a series of interviews and looked into potential sites all over the island,” said Brandon Massey, associate for FXCollaborative. “The most appropriate spot was in this area just to the north of Pine Plaza, which was a small wooded area between some existing underutilized buildings. That area would lend itself to a small museum. It would be nice and quiet and reflect the monument, but had enough space to be celebrated. As far as bidding for the job, it was a fairly competitive process where we presented several schemes and ideas, and went back and forth with the different groups.”