New York City’s $20 billion, 28-acre Hudson Yards project will feature some of the most advanced infrastructure technology to be found in any building complex in the country.
Among its innovations will be The Shed, a 170,000- to 200,000-sf, $425 million steel-and-glass retractable canopy, mounted on rails that allow the structure to expand and become an independent, multifaceted performance and arts space.
The Real Deal has called The Shed “The Batmobile of Buildings.” Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Rockwell Group, the six-story structure—once known as Culture Shed—is scheduled to open in 2019 (two years later than expected), just in time to host New York’s Fashion Week.
“It will be the world’s most flexible cultural institution,” says Dan Doctoroff, the former New York Deputy Mayor who is CEO of Sidewalk Labs, a Google-funded technology company that is moving into Hudson Yards and is focused on developing ways to improve city life. Doctoroff is also chairman of the Shed. He told Women’s Wear Daily earlier this year that the idea for The Shed “started when Diane von Furstenberg came to Mayor Bloomberg, me and Patti Harris [another deputy mayor] when we were in office in 2004, saying there is no home for fashion in New York.”
The Real Deal reports that technology will allow The Shed’s retractable canopy to open and close within 15 minutes, and transform from an open-air public space into an indoor venue. It is designed with 25,000 sf of museum-quality space, a 500-seat theater, event and rehearsal space, and an artist lab.
The New York Times reported last month that the nonprofit Shed has started programming some of its upcoming events, including the first of its commissions with conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner, who will produce a new work to be unveiled at the Shed’s opening.
Shed Fly Through Animation from The Shed on Vimeo.
Related Stories
| Jul 17, 2014
A harmful trade-off many U.S. green buildings make
The Urban Green Council addresses a concern that many "green" buildings in the U.S. have: poor insulation.
| Jul 8, 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright's posthumous gas station opens in Buffalo
Eighty-seven years after Frank Lloyd Wright designed an ornamental gas station for the city of Buffalo, the structure has been built and opened to the public—inside an auto museum.
| Jul 8, 2014
Lost in the Museum: Bjarke Ingels' maze will make you look up and around
The maze, located in the National Building Museum, is a precursor to an exhibit showcasing some of BIG's projects. To navigate the maze, people must look up.
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 7, 2014
'Solar orchid' pods will serve as floating restaurants, retail shops in Singapore's harbor [slideshow]
In an attempt to reunite the nation of Singapore with its harbor, SPARK Architects has designed the "solar orchid"—self-contained, solar-powered pods that mimic traditional hawkers.
| Jul 7, 2014
A climate-controlled city is Dubai's newest colossal project
To add to Dubai's already impressive portfolio of world's tallest tower and world's largest natural flower garden, Dubai Holding has plans to build the world's largest climate-controlled city.
| Jul 3, 2014
Gehry edits Canadian skyscraper plan to be 'more Toronto'
After being criticized for the original tower complex, architect Frank Gehry unveils a new design that is more subtle, and "more Toronto."
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jul 1, 2014
Peter Zumthor's LA art museum plan modified with bridge-like section across main thoroughfare
After his design drew concerns about potential damage to LA's La Brea Tar Pits, Peter Zumthor has dramatically revised his concept for the Los Angeles Museum of Art.
| Jul 1, 2014
Zaha Hadid's flowing Heydar Aliyev Center named Design of the Year for 2014
The Design Museum's Design of the Year award has been awarded to Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center. Hadid is not only the first woman to win the top prize, but the center is the first architectural project to win the overall competition.