Project Details
- Project Name
- Carnegie Hall Studio Towers Renovation Project
- Architect
- Iu + Bibliowicz Architects
- Project Types
- Cultural
- Project Scope
- Renovation/Remodel
- Size
- 167,000 sq. feet
- Shared by
- Hanley Wood Media
- Consultants
-
Landscape Architect: Olin,Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates
- Project Status
- Built
2017 AIA Institute Honor Award Winner in Architecture
New Yorkers of a certain vintage who were lucky enough to visit the artists studios that once occupied the tower above Carnegie Hall will recall fondly those rundown lofts, packed with the possessions of their bohemian tenants. But no need to mourn: The Carnegie Hall Studio Towers Renovation Project, by local office Iu + Bibliowicz Architects, hasn’t so much deleted a chapter in the building’s history as it has written a new one.
Fully 165,000 square feet of educational spaces, rehearsal rooms, administrative offices, and more now fill the tower, making it an integral part of the public programs and cultural mission of the world-renowned music and performance venue downstairs. The intervention was measured, but it is still extensive—existing walls and columns have been removed and rearranged to improve acoustics in the practice spaces, and glass walls have been added to bring more light into the former dwellings.
The update brings the 1891 tower up to LEED Silver standards, and the building wears its green credentials on its sleeve with a new landscaped outdoor terrace on the roof above the music hall. All of this has left the exterior practically untouched, save for a dramatic new LED lighting system that makes the monumental structure an unmissable landmark (all but rendering moot the old joke about how to get there). In a further logistical coup, not a single performance had to be canceled during the years-long renovation.
Project Credits
Project: Carnegie Hall Studio Towers Renovation, New York
Client: Carnegie Hall
Architect/Interior Designer: Iu + Bibliowicz Architects, New York . Carolyn Iu, AIA, Natan Bibliowicz, AIA (partners); Harold Gross, AIA (associate); Anne Watenberg, AIA, James Christerson, AIA, Linda Bower, Gregory DeNicola, Michael Hughes, Vaso Mitrou, Jenny Kononenko Peysin, Etien Santiago, Andrew Wetzler, Thomas Kosbau
(project team)
M/E Engineer: Cosentini Associates
Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates
Construction Manager: Tishman Construction
Landscape Architect: Olin
Lighting Designer: Kugler Ning Lighting Design
Acoustics: Kirkegaard Associates
Theater Design: Auerback.Pollock.Friedlander
Elevators: VDA
Roofing and Exterior Consultant: Gilsanz Murray Steficek
Signage & Graphics Design: Graham Hanson Design
Code Consultant/Expediter: KM Associates
Specifications: Construction Specifications
Kitchen Design: Foodservice Facilities International
Window Washing Systems: Entek Engineering
Irrigation: Fluidity Design Consultants
Renderings and Movies: Studio AMD
Size: 165,000 square feet
Cost: $230 million
To see the rest of ARCHITECT's coverage of the 2017 AIA Institute Honor Awards, click here.
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
The Carnegie Hall Studio Towers Renovation Project centered on three goals: The renovation, reorganization, and repurposing of 167,000 square feet of non-performance venues at the national historic site.
Project hallmarks include the following:
A new Music Education Wing, consisting of 24 acoustically superlative music rooms ranging from ensemble-sized to individual practice rooms. To create appropriate volume for music making, extensive surgery was performed to eliminate structural columns and floor slabs within the historical building. The new music rooms were built as rooms-within-rooms constructed with floating floors, ceilings hung from spring isolators, walls upholstered in varying weight acoustical materials, and double glass walls at windows.
Enlarged and improved backstage functionality achieved by lowering the orchestra lounge floor to align with the Perelman Stage. This renders Stage Left operational. Other modifications: the addition of orchestra rooms and new ADA compliant dressing rooms.
The installation of an interior oversized elevator for orchestra loading and support for backstage and music education functions.
A new landscaped roof terrace made possible by substantial structural reinforcement to existing steel trusses underneath.
A glass-enclosed exterior elevator supports the Music Education Wing and activates the roof terrace.
Administrative offices consolidated on two floors above Stern Auditorium. The top floor is a new mezzanine created by raising the 125-year-old roof. Skylights from the roof terrace above bring natural light to the interior offices.
The Carnegie steel trusses from the 1891 Mansard roof were exposed.
Exterior lighting of the landmark structure using proprietary 2700K white LEDs with strategic penetrations and mounting supports on a restored façade of brick, terracotta, limestone, and painted metal completed the transformation.
The project was awarded LEED Silver Certification.
