Telescopic ‘Culture Shed’ for New York | Diller Scofidio + Renfro

The concept behind the Culture Shed arose from the understanding that so many of New York’s cultural groups did not have the real estate to house large audiences, nor have the means to expand any existing venues. Consequently, the city is prone to missing out on traveling shows due to lack of available exhibition space. To remedy this, the Culture Shed will be a Kunsthalle, a cultural venue without permanent exhibits. Instead, it will provide a home for temporary shows, fairs, and concerts, such as New York’s annual Fashion Week, which currently takes place in pop-up tents.

Photograghy by © Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group

Planned to be constructed at the foot of a residential skyscraper also designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group, the new venue will prove three flexible galleries crowned by an open rooftop area equipped with a café and additional exhibition space. What really sets this project apart, however, is the lofty 140-foot retractable canopy that straddles it. If needed, this glass giant can trundle out on tracks and enclose a portion of the plaza in front of the building, creating a temporary hall that could play host to food fairs, concerts, and various other public events. When not required, the canopy politely tucks itself back over the building and returns the plaza to the public. A cultural center was first suggested for the Hudson Yard Development when the project was approved in 2004. The original proposal was for a considerably smaller 100,000 square foot complex surrounded by public space.

Although enthusiastic, the City of New York is making sure that the exact details are kept closely guarded while information about the project is being released gradually. On the 5th of February, the City Planning Commission sent the plans of the Culture Shed to the local community board to start the review process, which may take several months.

Photograghy by © Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group

With a hopeful date of 2017 set for completion, the fate of the project is tethered closely to fundraising efforts and the success of the Hudson Yard Development Project. If successful, developers hope the Culture Shed will give Hudson Yard the cultural kudos needed to be a legitimate player in New York.

Read the architect’s description below :

The Shed Arts Center Manhattan

Sited along the High Line at 30th street, The Shed is New York’s new home for artistic invention. The Shed is a 200,000-square-foot facility designed to physically and operationally accommodate the broadest range of performance, visual art, and multi-disciplinary work.

Photograghy by © Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group

The structure comprises two principal components: a six-level fixed building, and a telescoping outer shell that deploys over the adjoining plaza to provide a 120-foot-high, light-, sound- and temperature-controlled hall that can serve an infinite variety of needs and uses, including a theater seating 1,250.

The fixed building includes two large-scale column-free galleries comprising 25,000 square feet of museum-quality space; a 500-seat theater; event and rehearsal space; and a free lab for the creation of new work for early career artists in New York City.

The building is able to expand and contract by rolling the telescoping shell on rails. Through the use of conventional building systems for the fixed structure and adapting gantry crane technology to activate the outer shell, the institution is able to accommodate large-scale indoor and open-air programming on demand.