The Africa Center is to be located on the Museum Mile of Fifth Avenue at 110th Street. This permanent home in Upper Manhattan serves as a gateway to the arts and cultures of Africa and while linking the diverse communities of Harlem with the most prominent of arts corridors. The 75,000 square foot program in a four story structure at the base of a new 19 story residential tower is organised around a 50 foot high lobby facing Central Park. From this 5,000 square foot lobby, visitors access ticketing and information services, a stepped screening room and media box, a 3,000 square foot formal art gallery, a café & gift shop and an education zone to receive and instruct young visitors. A seating stair rises to the second floor consisting of 7,000 square feet of contemporary art galleries, a 4,000 square foot black box multipurpose room and a 100 foot long technologically advanced and changing teaching bar.The third floor houses dining & event spaces, meeting rooms, lounges, administrative areas and an outdoor terrace. The Africa Center inherits an idiosyncratic structure originally designed for the Museum for African Art. The design proposes surgical interventions to the space to accommodate the program while creating a visual dialogue between the existing and new. The result is a blank canvas with hints of potential for action and interaction. Performances, lectures, school group tours, business meetings, lounging and social actions all intermingle throughout The Africa Center, each indelibly marking the canvas.