Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Phase 2 Expansion

Lead Designers Suzan Tillotson, Dagmara Nowak, Liyi Pan

Entry Description

The re-envisioning of an iconic institution requires careful collaboration. The lighting was planned to orient patrons in a fresh manner and create unique lighting moments to give new identity to each space with consideration for artwork, maintenance, and wayfinding.

Upon entering, the patron is met with a staggering new steel canopy cantilever magically uplit with seemingly “invisible” linear LED fixtures housed in custom trough above the entry doors. Moving inward, flush lensed downlights and wallwashers highlight signage and feature walls, while also providing ambient light in the lobbies. In the double height retail space, mono-point trackheads are integrated into a wood baffle ceiling with adjustment capabilities that don’t require protruding below the ceiling plane and minimize the ‘retail” appearance from the street. LED accentlights milled into the walls directly light the wood stairs while indirectly lighting the underside of the reflective aluminum, accentuating its lightweight appearance.

Each element, from the new blade stair to the renovated Bauhaus stair, was designed with customized and unique ideas that brought a fresh take to the typical patron experience.

Company Description

Tillotson Design Associates, founded in 2004, is a WBE lighting design consultancy based in New York City. A diverse staff with backgrounds in architecture, interior design, and theater, including several LEED accredited professionals, combine talents to create exemplary work. Together, our principals provide over 80 years of lighting expertise. The launch of Tillotson Design Associates came just after Ms. Tillotson completed lighting designs for the Seattle Central Public Library and Prada Beverly Hills with the Office for Metropolitan Architecture.