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Bard Graduate Center for Studies
in the Decorative Arts The renovation and expansion of a 1905 residential
building located in New York City's Upper West Side Historic District
creates a new academic facility for the Bard Graduate Center for Studies
in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture. The challenge was to transform
an existing early twentieth-century residential building with a narrow
footprint and stringent landmark regulations into a modern public building.
The scope of the project included the restoration of the historic brick
and limestone Beaux Arts façade to its original condition. The
remainder of the building was stripped down to the steel structure, two
floors were added on top and the building was expanded into the rear yard.
For the rear-yard façade, a new brick, copper and glass façade
on the block's inner court reflects the minimal aesthetic of the interior
spaces. The primary spaces include a new lobby/reception area, 75-seat
lecture hall, state-of-the-art library and digital imaging center, classrooms
and seminar spaces, student and faculty lounges and administrative and
faculty offices. The introduction of large expanses of glass and exterior
rooftop terraces link interior and exterior to visually expand the compact
quarters of the building. Movement through the building is choreographed
to orient users toward the natural light, particularly by creating open
spaces from north to south where possible. The careful insertion of the
new structure into its historic framework has transformed the interior
of what was a private residence into an open, light-filled public environment
for the decorative arts. With new and renovated façades to reflect
its new academic identity, the building reemerges as a vital institutional
presence within the urban fabric of the city. Awards |
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