Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York

AIA, New York Chapter Award of Merit

Working with architects Smith-Miller + Hawkinson, we developed a long-term multi-phased plan for the reconstruction of the museum and surrounding corporate campus. Quennell Rothschild & Partners has subsequently designed and overseen construction of successive phases of site improvements, including expanded parking areas and new circulation routes for cars and tour buses and for a new jitney bus service, development of a new entrance courtyard and an outdoor cafe terrace, as well as an extensive planting program for the half-mile approach from main highway to museum.

The planting program incorporates a sequence of landscapes which echo the surrounding rural landscape ­- its orchards, meadows and woodlands – and culminates in a broad expanse of tall grasses around the museum, recalling the natural prairie of the region. Site walls constructed of stacked native limestone provide seating and modulate the subtle topography of the site to afford prospect over plaza areas and define a sequence of places within the campus. The improvements have transformed the campus from a sterile turf landscape of the traditional corporate office park into one that delights with a series of surprises, unique places, and an inviting pedestrian atmosphere.

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