Axis Mundi's MoMA Tower Proposal.
Slideshow by Matt Chaban
Axis Mundi has proposed an alternative tower to Jean Nouvel's 82-story slender skyscraper adjacent MoMA. Part boredom, part frustration, part thought experiment, the project got noticed by the City Planning Commission and will be presented at a July 22 public hearing on the Nouvel project.
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Going Up?
Axis Mundi's proposed tower rises on a vacant lot between MoMA and the American Folk Art Museum and Pearson's headquarters.
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Howdy, Neighbors
Unlike Jean Nouvel's tower, which Axis Mundi's tweeks in many ways, strives to be more in-line with its neighbors.
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Tourre de Verre
Nouvel's tower, which is currently going through the city's land-use review.
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Big & Bigger
Axis Mundi's building, at 596 feet, is less than half as tall as Nouvel's 1,250-foot tower.
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Peeping Marilyn
The building can be decorated in a number of styles, including some that nod to the art inside the neighboring museum.
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Spot the Influence
The various facades nod to Louis Kahn, Richard Meier, Rio’s favelas, and Corbu’s Unité d’Habitation--that staircase is his.
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Open Space
The building's agglomeration of boxes seems to be mocking Nouvel's sleek lines.
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Standing Apart
While the tower does not challenge the skyline through its height, it certainly remains a unique architectural statement.
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The Monument
The base, however, is meant to evoke MoMA's solid and stolid monumentality.
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Jenga, Anyone
The building begins with a somewhat standard configuration, but the pieces can be arranged in limitless ways.
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Paint by Numbers
The box approach also makes it easier to reorganize the building's interior uses and function.