Yale School of Architecture

D. Berke Studio –  Spring 2005

Sited within a changing area of Long Island City, the proposal for a Sculpture Center is predicated on the basis of productivity as well as display. The program is organized within two primary masses. A low structure housing the display, administration, and shared production areas, is countered by a thin tower which houses artists’ studios. A central court mediates between the two elements. The base is established as a partially defensive volume, filling out the block and protecting the interior realm, focused on the court, with minimal openings that frame views into the production areas that ring the galleries. The tower rises above to serve as a visual marker that anchors the complex within the city at large, and serves to pique the interest of the potential visitor on the surrounding streets. The “donut” layout of the lower building is ordered by production and administration uses lining the perimeter and galleries bounding the interior court. The tower overlaps the court at the corner, rising to include 14 studios that interlock sectionally to enable partial double height zones in each. The elevations attempt to reflect this complexity.