NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP, SCENERY & COSTUME SHOP

NEW YORK, NY

NYTW, a developmental theater company, has a new building to house a scenery shop, a costume shop, and a prop shop across the street from its theater, rehearsal studio, and offices. The building aspires to achieve two seemingly contradictory goals: to be as open and welcoming as NYTW’s other buildings are in the community, yet to be closed and protective so that noise, dust, and danger are kept from the neighbors.

Daylight is brought deep into the building with a glass enclosed stair, glass panels above the street level loading door, a band of windows at the front, windows at the back and skylights.  The open glass corner and overlook balcony makes use of the unique condition of having the NYTW facade closer to the street than the adjacent building on that side.

The facade is made of ground faced concrete block, and above the windows, a band of split-faced rusticated block. Block masonry is used to form kinship with nearby brick masonry while the larger scale block differentiates the building from its residential neighbors. The artful composition of the facade express NYTW’s artistic mission and differentiates this industrial building on this mixed-use block.

The Shop will contain a wood shop, a metal shop, a paint area, a costume workshop and storage area, dyeing and fitting areas, a small workshop for props, a technical director’s office with an overlook to the paint and assembly area, and common space for meetings and breaks. Each of the shops has a separate air handling system with heat exchanger to control energy costs and to separate odors and dusts from the other shops. Careful air barrier detailing and heavy construction separates the scenery shop from the costume shop to reduce odors and noise. Rooftop mechanical units are surrounded with noise barrier panels and positioned with the loudest equipment farthest away from neighbors to reduce environmental noise.

Substantial amounts of fresh air are available to maintain a healthful indoor environment. Spot ventilation is used in the each of the shops to remove noxious air. Lighting is controlled by occupancy sensors; several levels of lighting are available to suit different tasks and control energy. Dual flush toilets and low-flow fixtures reduce water use and sewer discharge. The building is registered as a LEED project aiming for Gold.

Completed: 2012
Cost: $2.7 Million