[NYguy]

Originally Posted by JSsocal

Don't be quick to jump on those who are opposing this cultural shed. This debate is an extremely relevant one in this situation, and honestly a fair one. This could honestly become a space that isn't used for 'cultural events' and could very well become a very corporate showroom.

It's not the developer who will be running the show here. While it hasn't been decided yet on which organization will run the facility, there is a mandate that it be active. But the definition of what is "culture" isn't as black and white as some of the NIMBYs would like. There will probably be corporate sponsors for events, but should that not be allowed?

The Culture Shed will be at the intersection of the new Hudson Boulevard Park and the High Line Park. It will not be the Javits Center light, but something that will invite people who otherwise probably wouldn't have a reason to go over there. The City doesn't want this to become just another random, sterile neighborhood of apartments and offices, that's why the facility is a mandated part of the site plan. Listening to these people whine about what may or may not happen there is like listening to someone whine about the gift wrapping you put on their gift.



http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/130209967

By Matt Chaban
February 5, 2013

Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockewell Group, the building is envisioned as a kuntshalle, essentially a museum with no permanent collection, that would accommodate shows from local and international cultural establishments. Its most dramatic feature will be a 140-foot retractable structure that when rolled into place will double the size of the ground-floor gallery.

"We spent the past few years studying what was really missing from the cultural landscape, what is it New York City isn't getting culturally," Laurie Beckelman, a consultant on the project, said following a City Planning Commission hearing on the plan Monday.

A cultural institution has been a component of Hudson Yards since the mega-development was first approved in 2004. But portions of it have changed as both the culture shed and the projects surrounding it have evolved. Among the proposed changes is that the 150-foot-tall Culture Shed, will be 70,000 square feet larger than the 100,000-square-foot cultural space approved in 2004. The building, which will abut the High Line along 30th Street near 11th Avenue, was to have been surrounded on all sides by public open space. The building has now been shifted west, nestled inside a neighboring apartment building, also designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with which it will share back-of-house space.

Culture Shed promoters say the changes will create a larger, higher-quality public space that allows for a free-flowing connection between the High Line, a large public plaza at the heart of the Hudson Yards eastern block and Hudson Boulevard, a park that will extend to 42nd Street.

Culture Shed is being developed by a non-profit the city is establishing, which will raise all funds for the project. Related is not directly involved, though the city may be hired to build the project, according to Ms. Beckelman.

During the course of explaining the zoning changes, the city revealed a number of new details about the project. Its main entrance will be on 30th Street, under the High Line, with entrances on the Hudson Yards platform, as well. There will be three galleries within the building and a fourth on the roof that will be open to the sky with an adjoining café.

Installations and works on the rooftop space and on the plaza outside over which the roof can extend will be open to the public. Shows within the building will require admission. When the plaza is not in use for shows, it will have movable seating and landscaping akin to what has been installed in Times Square and is bound for the Metropolitan Museum.

"There have been a lot of shows New York has wanted, and that have wanted to come to New York, that we were not able to get in the past," Ms. Beckelman said. "This creates a tremendous opportunity for the city to host all kinds of new art."