When Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City (1943-59), he prioritized both defining and activating space simultaneously, with movement influencing its configuration. This paper evaluates how an extension by Gwathmey Siegel and Associate Architects in 1992 altered Wright's original concept for the building.

​

Museums' spatial layouts influence visitor movement patterns, affecting awareness and encounters. Wright aimed to influence visitor movement, create differentiated social spaces within galleries, and emphasize the role of space and artwork in the visitor experience.

​

Through configuration analysis of floor plans and field observations, including tracking pedestrian flows and visitor counts, we compared the original layout with the later addition. While Wright's design emphasized the intelligibility of the space, interpersonal interaction was weaker away from the atrium, with frequent concave isovists indicating segregation.

​

Contrary to Wright's intention, most visitors ascended via the ramp rather than the elevator, resulting in more interaction with artwork during ascent. This challenges previous studies suggesting impediments to exploration, as visitors frequently stopped to take photos, even across different ramp levels.