The New Museum is dedicated to inspiring dialogue between contemporary artists and the public and is specifically interested in presenting the work of artists with little previous public exposure.  To meet the growing needs of the museum, originally founded in 1977, a new building was commissioned to accommodate larger exhibitions, public events and educational activities. The design for this new seven-story 48,000 ft² (4,460 m²) museum building, on Manhattan’s industrial Bowery, consists of an asymmetrical series of stacked boxes, shifted slightly off-axis. These volumes encompass open exhibition space, a media center, bookstore, classrooms, a library, study center, café and a below-ground 182-seat white box theater/auditorium. The cladding design features a luminescent, extra-large, expanded aluminum mesh over a striated aluminum substrate as well as minimalist ribbon window and skylight glazing systems. Front was retained to consult on all façade systems (including lobby glazing, ribbon windows and skylights) from project conception through contract award.