Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York is opening a $43 million visitor centre to attract more guests.
Called the Green-House, the visitor centre is described as the cemetery's new door and has been built around a restored 1895 Victorian greenhouse.
According to the Green-Wood Cemetery website, the new centre invites visitors to learn about the 478-acre site before exploring it.
Designed by New York-based Architecture Research Office (ARO), it includes exhibitions, dedicated facilities for research and education, and space for public and private events.
The 17,000-square-foot building includes a community classroom, two ground-floor galleries to display collections and travelling exhibitions, and a new climate-controlled archive.
"You can’t easily get people to walk through cemetery gates – no matter how elegant – because of a natural fear of confronting loss," Green-Wood president Meera Joshi told Wallpaper.
"We needed something to demystify the experience – a gentler transition onto the grounds."
Founded in 1838 and now a National Historic Landmark, the cemetery already provides various events and experiences, including walking tours, workshops, festivals and art installations.
ARO principal Kim Yao told the publication: "The new centre would support their mission of continuing their transition into a cultural organization."
Green-Wood is home to one of the largest outdoor collections of 19th and 20th-century statuary and mausoleums, as well as 580,000 permanent residents, including Leonard Bernstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Via ARO's project page, the new centre "strengthens visitors’ experience of the Green-Wood Cemetery as a cultural destination for art, history, and nature".
The Green-House is opening to the public on 18 April.
Images courtesy of ARO
