Harlem to Get Interactive Museum of Civil Rights in SHoP Architects' One45 Complex

SHoP Architects has unveiled the first version of One45, a massive residential complex in West Harlem, New York, spanning over 90,000 square meters. Located between West 144th and 145th Streets, Lenox Avenue, and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, the project includes residential spaces, commercial areas, offices, and two towers over 100 meters each. A key component is the Museum of Civil Rights (MCR), an innovative, interactive institution focused on civil rights history and ongoing struggles. Managed by the Civil Rights Foundation, the museum will feature permanent and temporary exhibitions, events for local artists, workshops, forums, and the Harlem Lab for Social Change. It will also include the Rooftop Teaching Garden, a green space for sustainability education, and the Harlem Forum on the top floor of One45 Tower for talks and performances with city views. The museum's programming will cover civil and labor rights, feminist struggles, LGBTQI+ associations, and religious and minority groups. Construction is expected to take 38 months, with completion by 2026 pending necessary approvals.