IN CONSTRUCTION
This project for the NYC Department of Design and Construction and NYC Department of Transportation completely rehabilitates the five-story, 40-year-old Delancey and Essex Municipal Parking Garage located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
The design includes replacing the deteriorating existing precast concrete panel façades facing Essex and Ludlow Streets and replacing them with a lightweight, naturally ventilated, visually dynamic façade that contributes to the rich texture of the growing neighborhood.
The pattern of the cable design is inspired by the work of various abstract artists such as Naum Gabo and Fred Sandback, who have defined form and space simply with lines. The scheme attempts to capture the visually dynamic quality of Optical Art works from the 1960’s, including Françoise Morellet’s “Grillage” drawings, where simple geometries were juxtaposed to create new, larger scale patterns.
The cable material itself is a standard DOT road barrier material, but here used in a new way—by turning them sideways and spanning vertically. The cables are positioned as if they were woven on a loom. This concept of weaving is loosely associated with the history of the Lower East Side and the early garment industry there.
The proposed façade for the Delancey + Essex Garage is a three-dimensional surface of lines that is produced by offsetting two layers of 1 ¼” composite cables.
When the two layers, one planar and the other folded, are viewed together, moiré patterns are created by the interference patterns made when the pieces cross. The patterns seemingly move across the face of the building as the viewer’s position changes whether they are walking or approaching by car. The patterns produced and the suggestion of movement is linked to the dynamic nature of moving vehicles occupying the structure.
The composite cable material will have a fiberglass core and woven stainless steel jacket. Each cable will span from the second floor to the roof level and be fastened to stainless steel end-fittings with integral turnbuckles for adjustability.
At the intermediate levels, stainless steel “o-rings” will attach the outer layer of cables to galvanized steel “combs,” anchored to the floor slab at each level. The comb’s horizontal steel rods extend to fix the outer, folded layer of cables at the correct distance from the structure. The inner layer is composed of straight lines that are attached only at endpoints.
A continuous edge of decorative lighting runs between the roof and second level at the southern portion of the façade. The lighting grazes the cable screen and accentuates the geometry of the façade and, ultimately, the viewers’ experience of it.
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