NEW YORK, NY
315-317 Broadway is a take on NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Committee and their policies. Using the committee as our client, we proposed a new building to accommodate their offices, using both an empty lot and its landmarked neighbor. The LPC had a unique role in the city as it offers the public the opportunity to contribute to architectural decisions in NYC. The 12-story building accommodates both private offices and public spaces, including exhibition spaces and auditoriums. The goal was to facilitate meetings between this very closed off institution and the people they serve.
The new public courtyard, accessible from both Thomas Street and Broadway is located between the new building, the new back facade of 315 Brodawy and the original, landmarked, back facade of that address.
This design has the particularity to reach into its neighboring buildings, not through the ground floor, but in the air, with the auditorium that “hangs” between both adresses and the bridge over Thomas Street that connects the LPC to a new exhibition space inside of a private building that used to be 317’s ‘twin’ on the street. Using the marble used for the original buildings at these addresses to create those new subtle visual connections on an otherwise modern design was a way for us to honor the rich history of this landmarked neighborhood.
