[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/ar...l?ref=nyregion

West Side Project Wins Grant for Urban Design



A design for a new cultural building planned for the West Side of Manhattan on 30th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues.

By KATE TAYLOR
July 15, 2010

The National Endowment for the Arts on Thursday announced $3 million in grants to city governments and other organizations around the country for urban design projects, including $100,000 for advanced work on a cultural building planned as part of the redevelopment of the railyards on the West Side of Manhattan.

The idea for the building, which has been little noted in the New York cultural world until now, envisions a new breed of cultural site — a kind of combination museum and rental exhibition space, which would be self-supporting.

The building, called Culture Shed, was conceived and is being designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro, in partnership with the Rockwell Group, for the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, a city entity. It would cover a footprint of 22,000 square feet on 30th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues, bordering the High Line to the south and a plaza to the north. The design calls for a five-story building with two translucent sheds that fit over it like trestle tables and can roll out into the plaza to temporarily create an exhibition hall of more than 55,000 square feet.

According to someone involved with the project who was not authorized to describe it and spoke only on the condition of anonymity, the building would be primarily, but not exclusively, for visual art. It would not be affiliated with any one cultural institution but would instead function like a time share, with different institutions as partners. (The Tate Modern, in London, has been mentioned.) So far, several institutions in the United States and Europe have expressed interest in being involved, the person said.

The 26-acre railyards site is being developed by the Related Companies. Joanna Rose, a spokeswoman for Related, said the timing of the start of construction on the railyards site depends on securing the anchor tenants, but could be as early as 2012.

Wendy Leventer, senior vice president for planning and design at Hudson Yards Development, said, “We think the design team has come up with an idea that really has tremendous potential.” said The grants will also support 20 other projects around the country, including the creation of an arts and culture campus on part of a former Bethlehem Steel plant in Bethlehem, Pa., and the development of a building with affordable housing for artists in downtown Los Angeles.