Earlier this year the board of directors at the Whitney Museum approved plans to begin construction on a new building near the High Line, to be completed by 2015, saying that "Downtown is a new city, a new nation. Why shouldn’t the Whitney be the museum of record there?” Well, it's on its way, and now Curbed has grabbed some shots from an unveiling of the plans... and there's a video fly-through of the whole thing! Think of it as the closest renderings will ever get to IMAX or 3-D.

The museum folk will be breaking ground on May 24th, 2011, at which time architect Renzo Piano's 14,000-square-foot plans will come to life along Gansevoort Street. Bonus: the new digs will have terraces, outdoor exhibits, pretty sweet views, and "a theater with convertible seating is tucked into the second floor, where performers will be backed by vistas towards the river."