BMW Guggenheim Lab: New York's Newest Pop-Up

By Reena Jana
September 1, 2011

BMW Guggenheim Lab

Interior view of the BMW Guggenheim Lab (photo by Roger Kisby)

One of the newest and trendiest hotspots in downtown Manhattan at the moment isn’t a restaurant, bar, or store. It’s a “lab"—one intriguingly named the BMW Guggenheim Lab. While the German luxury carmaker and one of the world’s leading art museums might seem like an unlikely pair (though granted, both are icons of elegance and refined tastes) they have successfully collaborated to create a temporary laboratory in a formerly run-down lot at the intersection of Houston Street and Second Avenue together.

BMW Guggenheim Lab

Exterior view from East First Street (photo by Paul Warchol) and interior view of BMW Guggenheim Lab (photo by Paul Warchol)

The goal of the BMW Guggenheim Lab, an open-air theater with a pop-up cafe by Brooklyn eatery Roberta's, is to offer free events, discussions, and workshops that will get everyday citizens to think about how to improve the experience of urban life. The idea is to offer programs that will get people of many different backgrounds to consider the theme of “confronting comfort,” according to Guggenheim curator Maria Nicanor, one of the organizers (with fellow Guggenheim curator David van der Leer) of the project.

BMW Guggenheim Lab

Cafe structure with view of outdoor seating (photo by Paul Warchol)

To provide an intelligent and varied program of events, Nicanor and van der Leer invited a wide spectrum of advisors to help. The Lab Team for the New York run of the project includes Canadian journalist Charles Montgomery, who focuses on the science of happiness in his books and articles; Nigerian microbiologist Olatunbosun Obayomi, known for his inventions in the area of converting organic waste into fuel; New York-based activist Omar Freilla, founder of Green Worker Cooperatives, which supports eco-friendly small businesses in the South Bronx; and Dutch architecture firm ZUS [Zones Urbaines Sensibles], founded by Elma van Boxel and Kristian Korema.

BMW Guggenheim Lab

Interior views showing the interactive installation Urbanology (photos by Roger Kisby)

The conversation-sparking events have included workshops where participants record random sounds around the city and then learn to re-mix them as sound art, documentary screenings and talks by chefs, architects, and the producer of the HBO TV series "The Wire" and "Treme."

After New York, the organizers have ambitious plans for the Lab. It will travel to Berlin and then Mumbai over the next two years. This will make up the first cycle of the project, and after it is completed, the Guggenheim Museum in New York will host an exhibition showcasing the concepts, debates, and images that result. There will be two more two-year cycles, each with their own themes, and six more international stops.

The global concept has received much praise from g art and design aficionados, as well as passersby. "We are thrilled that New Yorkers and visitors to the city alike have shown an interest in what we are doing," says Nicanor. The Lab is all for collapsing national boarders and collective problems solving, so we are eager to start this discussion virtually, before we actually engage with the remaining eight cities. We are interested in how someone’s perspective on a variety of urban topics can be entirely different in New York, Berlin, and Mumbai and what we can learn from each other. Luckily, we’ll get to have these conversations in person as the lab travels over the next six years."

Here, we’ve put together a list of books and other materials related to the programs and events offered at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York, so even if you can’t make it to there in person, you still get a taste.

Here, we’ve put together a list of books and other materials related to the programs and events offered at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York, so even if you can’t make it to there in person, you still get a taste.

BMW Guggenheim Lab Postcard

(buy it now price, $2.50)

Already a collector’s item, this postcard documenting the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s New York City run is available on eBay to anyone around the world, whether you’ve visited the Lab or not.
Behaviorology by Atelier Bow-Wow

(buy it now price, $80.55)

Japanese architecture firm Atelier Bow-Wow designed the moveable structure that houses the BMW Guggenheim Lab, which will next travel to Berlin. Learn more about their work in this book.
Diller + Scofidio (+Renfro) By Daria Ricchi, Guido Incerti, Deane Simpson

(buy it now price, $32.98)

Architect Elizabeth Diller is one of the world’s most respected designers, and served as an advisor for the BMW Guggenheim Lab. She is also spoke at the Lab on August 5, on the relationship between new technologies and how they shape the experience of cities, among other topics. This book looks at recent work by Diller and her partners in the architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef By Gabrielle Hamilton

(buy it now price, $17.90)

Another high-profile speaker at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York is chef Gabrielle Hamilton, owner of PRUNE restaurant in New York’s Lower East Side—site of the Lab. She’s also the author of this New York Times best seller. She’s scheduled to speak on August 26.
The Wire Complete Series DVD Set

(buy it now price, $59.99)

One of the well-known names on the roster of speakers at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York is David Simon. He’s the former crime reporter who produced and wrote the critically praised HBO TV series The Wire. In Simon’s work, cities are often characters. His current series, Treme, is currently on HBO. He’s scheduled to speak at the Lab on Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 7–9 pm
iPhone 4

(buy it now price, $548.99)

If you find yourself in New York from now until October 16, why not document the BMW Guggenheim Lab and its events with photos, videos, audio recordings – as well as Tweets on Twitter and Facebook posts? It’s all possible with the iPhone 4, which you can of course also use to text and call your friends and family, to invite them to meet you at the Lab.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York

(buy it now price, $9.99)

While the BMW Guggenheim Lab is located far downtown from the Solomon R. Guggenheim in Manhattan, the spiraling landmark designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Lab is a project created by the Guggenheim Foundation and represents the most current example of innovative architecture to bear the Guggenheim name. This book, published soon after the Guggenheim Museum opened on Fifth Avenue. It offers some intriguing historical context for how the Guggenheim’s architectural legacy was born.