The V
Liberty Museum New York
Liberty Island, 2017

As the Statue of Liberty nears its 130th anniversary, “The V” is a proposal for the Liberty Museum for civil rights and social justice, located on the tip of Liberty Island in New York in entourage of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York Harbour. Next to a scientific archive, accessible to the general public as well as researchers. On 14.000m2 the new Liberty Museum accommodates a concert hall with 300 seats, small and medium sized galleries, a digital fabrication laboratory, workshops, seminar rooms, lecture halls and an open air amphitheatre. The building is composed of three major parts, two external wings, embracing Liberty Island and one central, floating triple height space. Its relation to civil rights and social justice is embedded in its facetted geometry allowing lightness and conveying transparency. The central part of “The V” is lifted off the ground, creating a free space for gathering, playing and debating. Levels are weaving into each other fluidly. The building is designed as a self-sufficient structure harvesting energy through the sun and the wind. Despite it being self-sufficient “The V” aims at being an independent structure nourished by the knowledge of its visitors. “The V” acts primarily as museum, secondly as data-storage and open-source knowledge management system. The idea of “The V” is to create a space with overlapping programs – analog and digital – a place for knowledge exchange and cultural freedom. We believe that architecture can enhance and trigger well-being and happiness, we also believe that architecture should be for all to enjoy.