TATLIN NEWS #48

идея была в том, чтобы восприятие фасада непрерывно меня- лось. При нейтральном освещении фасад кажется белым и напо- минает о старом здании, а при определенном освещении фасадная гладь неожиданно оживает и перевоплощается в переливающуюся неосязаемую поверхность. | the point was that the perception of the fa ç ade would constantly change. under neutral light, it would look white as a reminder of the old building and then under a certain light it would all of a sudden change to this iridescent almost immaterial surface.

существующему коду, – это добавить не более  десяти сантиметров к существующему конвер- ту. Именно это мы и сделали. Мы завернули  здание в новую оболочку по всему периме- тру. Что же касается так называемых колонн- леденцов, я не хотел их трогать, потому что  они несут реальные структурные нагрузки.  Все здание выполнено из монолитного бето- на по месту – колонны, внутренние пожарные  лестницы, полуэтажи и мезонины, которые  раздробляли бывшие выставочные галереи на  клетушечные пространства. На демонтаж ше- сти пожарных лестниц и удаление фрагмен- тов фасада ушел год. Мы намучились, расчи- щая сложные внутренние лестничные пере- плетения. Эти лестницы шли вниз пару этажей,  прячась за центральным ядром, затем расхо- дились по углам и снова возвращались к цен- тру... Это было безумие. Интерьер больше на- поминал односемейный таунхауз. В этом была  своя оригинальность. Но для художественного  музея и вообще общественного пространства  здание было совершенно непригодно. – расскажите подробнее о процессе планирования? – Первые же наброски, что я сделал, ил- люстрируют представление о здании в виде  сплошной глыбы, и ее необходимо было рас- сечь вертикальными и горизонтальными про- резями. Вертикальные прорези всегда стре-

мятся сфокусироваться на узких городских  видах. По мере их роста вверх над галерей- ными этажами они раскрываются в панорам- ные окна. Здание совсем крошечное, и поэто- му я стремился консолидировать все прорези  в единый все обрамляющий жест, который бы  объединил внутреннее пространство компози- ционно. Я хотел продемонстрировать один ар- хитектурный акт с помощью ленты света, кото- рая бы вела вас сквозь внутренний объем – от  центрального ядра, рассекая пол, поднимаясь  вверх по фасаду, сворачивала бы затем в сто- рону по горизонтали, неся с собой верхний на- туральный свет, и, наконец, возвращалась бы к  ядру по потолку. Это действие повторяется на  каждом из четырех галерейных этажей. – любая критика субъективна. одна- ко как бы вы ответили критикам, которые считают, что ваши прорези на фасадах слу- чайны, а дизайн здания недостаточно смел. ведь у вас были на то причины, не так ли? – В проекте нет случайных жестов. Все  они помогают ощущать пространство и явля- ются прямыми ответами на структурную це- лостность здания, городские виды вокруг, ка- чество естественного света в галереях, плани- ровку интерьера и характер участка. Что же  касается смелости, то эта оценка скорее име- ет отношение к культуре, в которой мы жи- вем в постоянном ожидании открытия новых 

tion tower for the subway system below because it was so solid and it looked like other ventilation buildings near tunnels. I would wonder – what else could it be? – What were the restrictions imposed on you? – The primary restriction was that we could not tear the building down. There was an agreement between the city and the client. The height of the base of the Time Warner build- ing across the 8th Avenue was set to the height of the para- pet of our building and the city wanted to maintain the es- tablished scale. – What about preserving the lollipops and the curved front fa ç ade? – I like the curve. We were limited to only extend out by four inches outside the building’s envelope and that is exactly what we did – we put the new skin out around the whole body. The lollipops we didn’t want to touch because they are structural. The whole building is a site-cast concrete box – the lollipops, the fire stairs, half floors and the mezzanines that broke up gallery space are all site-cast concrete. It took a year to jack- hammer the six fire stairs and open up the building to light. A big part of cleaning up the interior was to consolidate the fire stairs that were all over the place. These stairs would go down a couple of floors behind the elevator core then shift to the cor- ners then go back to the center. It was absolute craziness. The interior of the building was really designed as a townhouse. It made sense as a big apartment, but as a public art museum, it didn’t make any sense. – Can you take me through the building design process? – The very first two sketches that I did were to illustrate the idea of thinking of the building as a solid block and trying to imagine how to cut it vertically and horizontally. The vertical cuts are always about the focused views of the city and as they get higher above the gallery floors they open up to more pano- ramic views. We also opened the corners since they were already open structurally by perforations of the former building. Since the building is so small, I really wanted to consolidate all dif- ferent cuts into this sort of pinwheel ribbon that unified the entire building. I wanted it to be one act of architecture – one continuous ribbon of light that would guide you through the volume away from the core along the floor, up the fa ç ade wall, then across to bring the natural light in and finally, along the ceiling back to the core. This sequence repeats on each of the four gallery floors. We looked at taking down sections of floor plates, but the building is so small that it would greatly reduce the gallery space. – All criticism is subjective. but how would you respond to those who say that your fa ç ade cuts are randomly placed and that the building’s design is not bold enough. You had your reasons, right? – The gestures are not random because they are about the spatial experience and they are the direct responses to the structural integrity of the building, the views of the city, the quality of natural light in the galleries, the interior plan and the site. And the boldness has more to do with the image driven culture we live in. I think the building offers a very rich, com- plex and powerful experience and the fact that it does not have a signature shape it makes the experience much richer because it requires a deeper engagement with the building – to explore the interior or to spend time to see the light change over the course of the day. I see the building as a compass point and I wanted people to feel it. For me architecture is not an act of proclamation, but an act of enquiry and investigation. It is not

Музей искусств и дизайна, площадь Коламбус-серкл №2, Манхэттэн, Allied works Architecture. Фото: Helene Binet |  The Museum of Arts and Design at 2 Columbus Circle, Manhattan, Allied Works Architecture. Photo: Helene Binet

ТАТLIN news 6|48|65  2008   109