53rd Street with view of American Folk Art Museum and MoMA. Image: Architects League NY.

Archinect recently published second-year M.Arch students Ayesha Ghosh and Alex Stewart’s account of the January 27 panel discussion addressing MoMA’s controversial plan to demolish the Todd Williams and Billie Tsien-designed American Folk Art building. The proposed destruction of the thirteen-year-old American Folk Art building is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s latest expansion plan, designed by Diller Scofidio+Renfro. Ghosh and Stewart attended the discussion, which was sponsored by the Architects League, the New York Chapter of the AIA and the Municipal Art Society. In their article, the Parsons students provide a detailed account of the charged discussion, including remarks from MoMA director Glenn Lowry and Diller Scofidio+Renfro’s Liz Diller, as well as questions from the audience at the sold-out event.