Firm： LEONG LEONG Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Type： Cultural › Gallery Educational › Other

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2014

SIZE： 1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

Photos： Naho Kubota (8)

Designed by Charles Renfro, of Diller Scofido + Renfro, with Leong Leong, the new home of MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood serves multiple functions in a single interior. It is a hybrid of educational and exhibition space that enables students to work with leading curators from New York and around the world, and offers the program immense flexibility in staging conversations, holding panel discussions and providing a platform for performances and exhibitions.

The space is divided into four main programmatic zones. Visitors enter the Office Zone with administrative offices and a reception desk. Adjoining this area is a hybrid seminar/screening/exhibition space. Next to this is the Public Zone that offers ten movable walls, allowing for the fluid arrangement of spaces for exhibition, performance and conferences. Alongside this, the Private Zone runs the length of the space to house individual study niches, storage spaces and a sleeping area. The Domestic Zone, situated adjacent to a bank of south-facing windows, is designed to accommodate weekly roundtable discussions and social gatherings. It is equipped with a kitchen, library and dining areas.