New York’s new attraction is an old attraction that dates back to 1871. The 19th-century look of the American Museum of Natural History, one of the most visited in the world, gets a 21st-century look with a $465 million facelift by incorporating the Richard Center Gilder.

It is an architectural and scientific landmark in which curved shapes and natural light predominate. Construction began in 2014 and this wing opens on May 4, located at the confluence of 79th Street and Columbus Avenue, in alignment with the axis of the sun.

From the outside it resembles a white granite hill with huge cave-like windows. Inside, a 21,300 m2 enclosure is transformed into an atrium that imitates an abyss and is reminiscent of an imposing canyon.

The architect Jeanne Gang, in charge of the design, considered how the use of space could contribute to the human desire to learn and encourage their curiosity. “This led us to look at geological landscapes and observe how natural forces shape material and our world,” she says.

Its curvaceous solution easily evokes the great Antoni Gaudí, whom Gang admires. “He is one of my favorite architects,” he admits. “His work was always about the structure and this is also about the structure”, he explains. As there are few support points to support the four floors, he considered the shape of the natural chains and the forces that flow around that irregular opening that dominates the atrium. To achieve this he used reinforced shotcrete, a common technique in tunnel construction, which does not require formwork.

One of the challenges that Gang faced is the complex connection between the ten buildings that make up the museum and that have been added. “I think we improve circulation, but this architecture is really meant to create a place that encourages people to explore,” she remarks. The open space left by the emptiness of the huge hall makes it easy to view the collections, even the furthest away, and makes them accessible.

Jim Carpenter is in the insectarium, where he has worked for seven years, and is responsible for the hives. In this new facility on the first floor, they have set up a giant real honeycomb, which is like a dream for him.

Beside him, the entomologist David Grimaldi aims to get people closer to insects to understand their importance in the ecosystem. “They get a bad rap because of a small fraction of biters or disease carriers, but the vast majority are harmless and essential,” he enthuses.

The Gilder Center, which houses four million specimens of the museum’s total collection, displays some 3,000. Among its inhabitants there are more than half a million living residents in these exhibitions, of 18 species.

Although the butterfly garden, of multiple colors and shapes, already existed, now it is a paradise that remains humid, hot, like a tropical setting, while the giant beetles feed on rotting fruit and the ants demonstrate their hard-earned reputation for industriousness. .

And the highlight is on the third floor, where the new interactive show Invisible worlds (invisible worlds), in whose creation the Spanish company BMA has collaborated, exhibits an immersive experience on the human connection with the rest.

“The Gilder is designed to bring the scientific process to the forefront,” says Sean Decatur, the museum’s recently appointed president. Her predecessor, Ellen Futter, who retired in March, recalls that “in the world of post-truth it is more necessary than ever to build trust in the scientific process.” Where we come from and where we are going.