A Contemporary Gateway to Green-Wood Cemetery

ARO was awarded the project as part of a competitive pursuit in 2017 (RFQ then RFP, then interviews). At the time of pursuit, a previous design by another firm had been rejected by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, prompting the client to consider other firms. Owner’s representative About the Work managed the project since that stage.

The Green-House at Green-Wood is unique because it integrates past, present, and future. The new L-shaped structure wraps around the restored, landmarked Victorian-era Weir Greenhouse, which once served the cemetery and creates a new front door to Green-Wood. The building offers community classrooms, staff offices, gallery spaces, and an archive, to reestablish Green-Wood’s role as a community anchor and cultural institution. The project builds upon Green-Wood’s organizational mission of stewarding the past while looking towards the future.

The design of the building highlights and celebrates Green-Wood’s landscape and history and becomes a new front door for the cemetery. Large windows on the second floor offer expansive views uphill towards the cemetery and its historic Richard Upjohn-designed arched gate, while a sculpted green roof and entry courtyard echo Green-Wood’s hills and extends into industrial Sunset Park. The custom-glazed, burgundy terra-cotta recalls the brownstone of the gothic Upjohn Arches and complements the Green-House’s copper roof. The new building’s materiality complements the cemetery’s palette, without competing with the Green-House.

The Weir Greenhouse is located along Fifth Avenue, directly across from Green-Wood’s gates. The design of the new structure communicates and signals a new point of entry and orientation to the cemetery and facilitates a seamless transition into the cemetery grounds. The new center and main entrance were strategically placed behind the Weir Green-House, to provide ingress and egress and to minimize the number of architectural interventions to the historic structure. With this composition, the Green-House retains its historic architectural prominence while the new building imbues a contemporary design.

The Green-House at Green-Wood was designed to welcome and orient visitors, support the cemetery’s programmatic vision and development as a cultural organization, and provide exhibition and educational spaces for future community and cultural programming. Each of these considerations influenced the design of the building. When entering the new building, the ground floor directly connects to the exhibition hall on the right, and to the new community spaces on the left, creating an accessible experience for visitors. 

The Green-House at Green-Wood is another example of our office’s thoughtful and contextual approach to public, cultural projects. The Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape welcomes and orients visitors to the Olana New York State Historic Site and is a similar interpretive threshold. Our work connecting people with art includes Dia Art Foundation’s Chelsea galleries and offices and our posthumous collaborations (we do great work with departed artists) include our work at the Rothko Chapel and Donald Judd’s Home + Studio (as well as Olana) are additional examples. This project for Green-Wood also honors those buried at Green-Wood and is very much for the living to engage with memory, history, and culture.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.