Daily News from New York, New York • 273

Denis Hamill Page 5 Caribbeat Page 20 rvn no $55M Brooklyn Museum plan sees glass pavilion entry ill i If I i "smmm 3 I I iHM.n. riaffli3Hiiyo -tiff, By ELIZABETH HAYS DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Less than a year since the closing of "Sensation," the controversial exhibit of ultramodern art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art is once again breaking new ground. But this time, the action will take place outside its doors not inside. The museum is working on designs for a $55 million renovation project that would add a modem grand entrance to the 103-year-old Beaux Arts building by 2002. Like its new exhibits and other new programs, the new look is part of a larger strategy to make the 19th-century museum more inviting and appealing to an ever-broader audience, officials say.

"It's very much about creating new generations of museum visitors who need to feel a relevance to their lives," said Arnold Lehman, who joined the museum as its director three years ago, and is behind many of the changes. "It's very important that we do everything we can to break down barriers," he added. In this case, the museum seems to be taking it literally. Under the large-scale renovation plan, designed by architect James Stewart Polshek, the museum's main Eastern Parkway entrance would be reconstructed to include a glass entry pavilion, which would more than double the museum's existing lobby. "Before, this was a building that was really unfriendly," said Lehman.

"We wanted to open it up. Now, you'll have a sense of seeing into and out of the building." Another of the key elements designed to draw people to the museum is a dramatic new public plaza, complete with fountains, reflecting pools and a sweeping, amphitheater-style staircase. "We wanted to create a new civic place where people could congregate," Lehman said. "We wanted to provide options for people who may not even come into the building." Museum officials said that over the last several years, the annual number of visitors to the museum has nearly doubled. Until about three years ago, they said, yearly attendance had plateaued at roughly 250,000 visitors a year.

But, pointing to the NEWS ail? Last week, the commissioners unanimously called the designs appropriate, but raised questions about several points, including the material chosen for the plaza, the reasoning behind a series of mast-like structures and the minimal use of greenery. The design team will present updated plans to the commission in January, and museum officials said they were encouraged by the commission's reception of the plans so far. As it stands today, the museum's main doors are not the building's original entrance. When the building opened in 1897, it featured a 30-foot stairway leading to a grand, third-floor entrance. In the mid-1930s, under a Work Projects Administration plan, the dilapidated stairs were removed, and the museum's front entrance was shifted to the ground level.

Instead of detracting from the landmark building's original design, Lehman and the others involved in the renovation argue the proposed modern entry pavilion and plaza will enhance the original design. "Brooklyn has always been about change," said Lehman. "I think we always have to look forward and not back." NEWS i 'Wimi t- it has generally been well-received. It was unanimously approved by Community Board 9 at its June meeting, and at a series of public hearings, many Brooklyn cultural leaders and elected officials have testified in support of it. Museum officials said they hope to begin construction by summer, and to have the project completed by the end of 2002.

Because the McKim, Mead White-designed building is a designated landmark, construction may not begin until the designs are approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. HOME DELIVERY 1 800 692 I Artist's rendering of proposed addition to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It would create a glass entry pavilion for the landmark building on Eastern Parkway (r). success of several recent major exhibits, the officials said that by last year attendance had risen to almost 475,000 visitors. Despite the already dramatic increase, Lehman and his colleagues said, the renovation is intended to reach out to the surrounding community and beyond.

Calling the proposed glass pavilion "a beacon or lantern for people to be drawn to," and the amphitheater steps "the ultimate Brooklyn stoop," Duncan Hazard, the project's managing partner at Polshek Partnership Architects, said the entire design is founded on the welcoming principle. "It is really an expression of the museum's wish to reach out to its public," he said. "And to signal to its public that it has a new inclusive spirit." BUREAU (718) 875-4455 Funding for the renovation is made possible by $20.5 million from the budget of Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden and $16.2 million from the City Council. Museum officials said another $5.8 million for the project is to come from Mayor Giuliani as part of his settlement agreement with the museum over the "Sensation" exhibit in March. They said they hope to raise the rest of the money through private donations.

While the museum's renovation plan has been criticized by some historical preservationists, FAX (718) 875-7795.