The New York State Museum, Archives and Library have reached the limits of their space within the existing Cultural Education Center (CEC) at the New York State Capital. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), as a manager of capital projects for the State, was commissioned to prepare a study establishing the requirements for a new collections facility for the State’s cultural institutions. As part of a team led by Woolley Morris Architects of Syracuse, NY WeatherstonBruer were retained to provide collection storage and management expertise in establishing the program requirements and developing concepts for these new facilities. 

In Phase One WeatherstonBruer provided museum consulting services to Woolley Morris Architects in planning the new collection storage, management and conservation facilities. We established the facility program requirements in consultation with museum staff and user groups. We also developed conceptual planning approaches for collection and management facilities, conservation facilities and receiving and handling facilities.

In Phase Two WeatherstonBruer were asked to update the requirements established in Phase One and undertake a detailed analysis of the requirements for the Museum’s huge History collection with a view to relocating them into the proposed new facility. The History collections are currently housed in relatively poor conditions in the Museum’s 75,000 square foot Rotterdam facility, formerly a military storage complex. The collection includes a wide range of artifacts from heavy-duty equipment and farm implements to furniture, textiles, photography and fine art. To accommodate the huge variety of artifacts a wide range of different equipment types and space requirements were identified.