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THE MUSEUM OF ARTS& DESIGN HAS BECOME a vilified object in some New York circles.
For almost three years, preservationists battled the cultural institution, formerly known as the American Crafts Museum, over its plans to transform the Edward Durrell Stone building at 2 Columbus Circle. Finally victorious in their quest to remodel what many call a prime example of modernist architecture , museum officials say the uproar had a silver fining.
"The controversy has given us $5 million of free advertising," says museum Director Holly Hotchner. "Now, everyone has heard of us."
The new location clearly will give the museum-long housed in a tiny space on West 53rd Street in the shadow of the Museum of Modern Art-a bigger stage on which to perform.
The new building will triple the current space, to 59,000 square feet, allowing the arts and design museum to display its permanent collection of 2,000 objects for the first time. The operating budget will increase by 50%, to $9 million. More than 600,000 visitors a year are expected-a huge jump from the current 225,000.
The expansion is desperately needed. Because it...