In recent years, the West Chelsea district of Manhattan has undergone marked changes. More and more galleries and studios have moved there, and the area has become a centre of the art market with many buildings by prominent architects in close proximity to this new gallery for David Zwirner.
Although the former structure, a three-storey parking garage, was not suited to conversion, the new building reflects the industrial heritage of the district. At the same time, the new cultural usage is suggested by the careful execution of the work and by the windows and entrance front in teak. The gallery spaces are designed to provide a restrained background for the works of art. White walls are complemented by concrete, oak and travertine floors; and exposed concrete surfaces internally lend the entrance area and the impressive skylit staircase their specific note. Smoother forms were used for the slender concrete stair flights, which are contrasted with the lively textures of the walls.
The carefully designed formwork patterns of the street facade and the internal exposed concrete walls are characterized by lightly sealed pine boarding roughly 20 cm wide and by precisely positioned tie holes. Close supervision of the pouring and vibration helped to produce even surfaces. What’s more, every storey was completed in a single pour, the walls finished slightly higher than the adjoining floor slab in each case, so that the joints coincide exactly with those between the boards of formwork. Because of the location of the site, all concrete had to be poured from the street front. For the exposed concrete walls, a relatively fluid yet dense mix was used. A high proportion of slag helped to achieve a good assessment of sustainability according to the US LEED system.
Although the former structure, a three-storey parking garage, was not suited to conversion, the new building reflects the industrial heritage of the district. At the same time, the new cultural usage is suggested by the careful execution of the work and by the windows and entrance front in teak. The gallery spaces are designed to provide a restrained background for the works of art. White walls are complemented by concrete, oak and travertine floors; and exposed concrete surfaces internally lend the entrance area and the impressive skylit staircase their specific note. Smoother forms were used for the slender concrete stair flights, which are contrasted with the lively textures of the walls.
The carefully designed formwork patterns of the street facade and the internal exposed concrete walls are characterized by lightly sealed pine boarding roughly 20 cm wide and by precisely positioned tie holes. Close supervision of the pouring and vibration helped to produce even surfaces. What’s more, every storey was completed in a single pour, the walls finished slightly higher than the adjoining floor slab in each case, so that the joints coincide exactly with those between the boards of formwork. Because of the location of the site, all concrete had to be poured from the street front. For the exposed concrete walls, a relatively fluid yet dense mix was used. A high proportion of slag helped to achieve a good assessment of sustainability according to the US LEED system.