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
| May 15, 2014
First look: 9/11 Memorial Museum opens to first-responders, survivors, 9/11 families [slideshow]
The 110,000-sf museum is filled with monumental artifacts from the tragedy and exhibits that honor the lives of every victim of the 2001 and 1993 attacks.
| May 13, 2014
Steven Holl's sculptural Institute for Contemporary Art set to break ground at VCU
The facility will have two entrances—one facing the city of Richmond, Va., the other toward VCU's campus—to serve as a connection between "town and gown."
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 13, 2014
Libeskind wins competition to design Canadian National Holocaust Monument
A design team featuring Daniel Libeskind and Gail Dexter-Lord has won a competition with its design for the Canadian National Holocaust Monument in Toronto. The monument is set to open in the autumn of 2015.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 9, 2014
New York Public Library scraps drastic renovation plans
The New York Public Library's controversial renovation, involving the removal of stacks from the Schwarzman building and the closing of the mid-Manhattan branch, has been dropped in favor of a less dramatic plan.
| May 2, 2014
World's largest outdoor chandelier tops reworked streetscape for Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare
Streetscape project includes monumental gateway portals, LED signage, and a new plaza, fire pit, sidewalk café, and alfresco dining area.
| May 2, 2014
Must see: French pavilion to take food from roof to table
France has presented its design for Expo Milano 2015 in Milan—its representative building will be covered in gardens on the outside, from which food will be harvested and served inside.
| Apr 30, 2014
Visiting Beijing's massive Chaoyang Park Plaza will be like 'moving through a urban forest'
Construction work has begun on the 120,000-sm mixed-use development, which was envisioned by MAD architects as a modern, urban forest.
| Apr 29, 2014
USGBC launches real-time green building data dashboard
The online data visualization resource highlights green building data for each state and Washington, D.C.
