The Everson Museum of Art and Syracuse University School of Architecture are pleased to announce MILLIØNS as the winner of the Everson Museum Café Design Competition. Everson Museum Director and CEO Elizabeth Dunbar, Everson Museum Curator of Ceramics Garth Johnson, Sean Anderson (MoMA), Aric Chen (Design Miami), Jing Liu (SO—IL), Matt Shaw (The Architect’s Newspaper) and Oana Stănescu (Harvard GSD) comprised the jury that selected the firm.
In addition to providing daily lunch service and hosting special events, the project will also serve as a venue to showcase the The Rosenfield Collection, a functional ceramic art collection of more than 3,000 pieces gifted to the Everson Museum of Art by Dallas-based ceramic artist and collector Louise Rosenfield. Rosenfield, along with Kate Nutting, principal and managing member of VIP Architectural Associates; Fouad Dietz, chair of the Everson Museum buildings and grounds committee; and Karyn Korteling, owner of Pastabilities restaurant in Syracuse, served as advisors to the jury.
“MILLIØNS, through their incredible breadth of research and experimental design approach, pointed to unexpected ways in which this intervention can reverberate throughout the existing building,” says competition juror Oana Stănescu. “MILLIØNS’ strategy looks to give coherence to the museum experience by subtly inserting a contemporary design in the iconic building, representative of very different times and attitudes towards art and life. This is an exciting new chapter for the Everson, a respectful nod to its past and a reassuring step towards the future.”
“MILLIØNS brings a striking individuality to their work,” says Dunbar. “Their approach to the café design within I.M. Pei’s iconic Everson design brings to mind Pei’s own daring intervention into the Louvre. MILLIØNS included prismatic glass towers in their design, brilliantly combining function with architectural flair and conceptual rigor. They not only thoughtfully engage Pei’s style; they have highlighted its unique characteristics while simultaneously giving Louise’s collection the prominence and respect it deserves. We are all so very excited to work on this project with MILLIØNS. Together we are creating a café space and experience unlike any other in the world.” Construction of the new café will begin in 2020 with an expected opening in late summer of the same year.
The international competition, organized by Syracuse University School of Architecture Dean Michael Speaks and Assistant Professor Kyle Miller, began in March with invitations to offices from Canada, China, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United States to submit conceptual images and statements of interest. In May, MILLIØNS (Zeina Koreitem and John May, Los Angeles), FreelandBuck (David Freeland and Brennan Buck, Los Angeles/ New York, NATURALBUILD (Yanfei Shui and Yichi Su, Shanghai), and Norman Kelley (Thomas Kelley and Carrie Norman, Chicago/New Orleans) were selected as finalists.
This project is part of a strategic initiative to restore and enhance the Everson’s building with the aim of positioning the historic structure as a source of civic pride, while simultaneously creating a dynamic and innovative museum for a 21st-century audience. Recently completed facility improvements include the Danial Family Education Center, a state-of-the-art auditorium renovation, and the Paul Phillips and Sharon Sullivan Ceramics Center. These projects were made possible by generous contributions through The Everson. First and Forever. comprehensive campaign.
