Corning Museum of Glass

Corning, New York

Project Size: 26,000 square feet
Designers: Thomas Phifer & Partners

Through the Looking Glass

Home to more than 3,500 years of history, the Glass Collection Galleries hold the most comprehensive and celebrated glass collection in the world.

Continuously innovating, the Museum underwent a significant expansion in 2015. The new North Wing Expansion at the Corning Museum of Glass is a 100,000 square foot space, housing a 26,000 square foot contemporary art building, and is the largest space anywhere dedicated to the presentation of contemporary art in glass.

Adjacent to the new gallery is a renovated historic glass factory ventilator building that contains one of the world’s largest facilities for glassblowing demonstrations and live glass design sessions, with 500 seats. The galleries feature over 70 works from the Museum’s permanent collection, including recent acquisitions and large-scale pieces that have never been on view before.

Breaking Barriers

kubik maltbie was hired to fabricate and install all cases and platforms. Prominently featured in the new exhibit space are sleek modern display cases that are works of glass art in themselves. Most notable of these is a continuous glass case, measuring 40 feet in length, that offers visitors an unimpeded view of the displayed objects from all sides. Made from highly durable Gorilla Glass, the same glass used for devices like cellphones and tablets, this is the first time this damage-resistant, thin, and optically pure glass has been used in a museum. Working with Gorilla Glass required careful testing of the materials to ensure its durability once installed.