Storm King Art Center Allées Renewal and Artist Collaboration

Achieved on a site notable for divergent histories—Indigenous, agricultural, industrial—Storm King today is structured around allées, meadows and views that balance the experience of the works against the immensity of their setting. We see Storm King Art Center pursuing a dual mission as a remarkable outdoor museum: through the experience of contemporary sculpture in landscape, the institution promotes the preservation and integrity of the lands and waters of the Hudson Valley.

Adapting the Allées

In 2018, Reed Hilderbrand worked with Eric T. Fleisher (F2 Environmental) to complete a forensic analysis of mature and declining trees within Storm King's historic Maple and Museum Road Allées. We examined the cultural, biophysical, and heritage characteristics of the allées and put forward an approach for their renewal.

The following year, we replaced the declining Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum ‘Green Mountain’) with Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica), a species better suited to the site's hydrological and soil conditions. The removal of these aging trees was marked by artist Jean Shin, who used the harvested trunks to construct Allée Gathering, a monumental picnic table sited next to the newly planted Black Gums to celebrate the transition and renewal of the allée.

Stewardship and Conservation

At the Museum Road Allée, we worked with Storm King to replant a portion of the failing Sugar Maple trees with the same species, while recommending new maintenance practices. After this initial phase, we began investigating ways to improve the resiliency of the allée to threats such as pests, disease, and climate stress. In 2025, alongside the Storm King Capital Project, we implemented a strategy to augment the existing structure of the allée with diverse multi-species groves. This framework ties into broader institutional principles of biodiversity and stewardship and ensures that the Allée can continue to provide shade, shelter, habitat, and structure for the next generation of visitors.

The Capital Project enabled multiple other projects throughout Storm King's landscape to preserve the museum's ecological integrity, foster hospitality, and enhance visitor's connection to nature. Five acres of former parking lots were removed from the visitor experience, foregrounding land, water, and art. We daylit a formerly culverted stream feeding the Moodna Creek, and creating new wetland habitat adjacent to Alexander Calder's The Arch. In close collaboration with heneghan peng and WXY, we tailored the siting of the new buildings to minimize grading, enable reuse of existing infrastructure, and protect habitat. The new visitor pavilions and parking, and David R. Collens Building for conservation, fabrication, and maintenance demonstrate an approach to building only what is necessary, enabling visitors and staff to focus on land, art, and people.

The Capital Project

The Capital Project enabled multiple other projects throughout Storm King's landscape to preserve the museum's ecological integrity, foster hospitality, and enhance visitor's connection to nature. Five acres of former parking lots were removed from the visitor experience, foregrounding land, water, and art. We daylit a formerly culverted stream feeding the Moodna Creek, and creating new wetland habitat adjacent to Alexander Calder's The Arch. In close collaboration with heneghan peng and WXY, we tailored the siting of the new buildings to minimize grading, enable reuse of existing infrastructure, and protect habitat. The new visitor pavilions and parking, and David R. Collens Building for conservation, fabrication, and maintenance demonstrate an approach to building only what is necessary, enabling visitors and staff to focus on land, art, and people.

Working with Artists

Since beginning our work at Storm King, we have engaged in multiple projects to facilitate the installation of new artist works and enrich the visitor experience. For Sarah Sze's Fallen Sky, we provided consultation on placement and grading to knit the sculpture into the surrounding hillside. Working with Martin Puryear on Lookout, we examined paving as a celebration of material expression and craftsmanship. Collaborating with masonry specialist Lara Davis, we identified accessible circulation and paving strategies tailored to the outdoor museum environment that also met the artist's intent for material character.