Curtains Up on West 52nd Street
February 9, 2010
The 52nd Street Project, a non-profit that matches kids from Hells Kitchen with professional theater artists (Cynthia Nixon, Billy Crudup, and Edie Falco to name a few) to create original works, has officially opened in its permanent home designed by BKSK Architects. After occupying various temporary spaces since it was founded 30 years ago, the group now has its own entrance and two floors in the new Archstone Clinton mixed-use development. The 17,000-square-foot space contains dressing rooms, studios, private and open offices, a workshop, and an after-school clubhouse with full kitchen, as well as tutoring and teaching spaces. At the heart of the space is a 156-seat black box theater, which also serves as a multi-purpose courtyard. A five-foot-wide catwalk with an open steel grating spans the length of the theater box and creates a shortcut between offices and a workshop and after school areas on either side. Windows in the street wall of the theater space were opened up, bringing in natural light. The project is expected to achieve LEED Gold.Read the original newsletter at e-Oculus.
