35 Worth Street, Tribeca, NYC

WHEN RESTORATION fosters RENEWAL

35 Worth Street, Tribeca, New York, NY

Size: 15,000 SF

Client: Sergeants Benevolent Association SBA

Comprehensive renovation of the entire building, including structural work, modern systems, interior and exterior finishes, FF&E and graphic program.

Architectural Design + Documentation, Interior Design, FFE, Lighting, Architectural Graphics, Development Services, Owner’s Representation, Project Management

WHEN RESTORATION FOSTERS RENEWAL

The SBA, Sergeants Benevolent Association, which is the Labor Union of the NYPD, is a significant fixture in the New York City’s political landscape, they own and occupy a Tribeca Loft Building, which had been heavily altered during the years.

The SBA headquarters building gut renovation and interiors, as in the true meaning of restoration, offered the unique opportunity to repair a building at the end of life, remediate the streetscape and renew the public image of the Union, following the “defund the police” years.

The building gut renovation, as in the true meaning of restoration, offered the unique opportunity to complete the repair a building at the end of life, remediate the streetscape and, following the defund the police movement, renew the public image of the Union.

The remediation of the built environment is both physical, morally and urbanistically significant. The building, which is adjacient to another structure recently renovated by TRA, also completed the transformation of the Worth street corridor.

The gut renovation reinvents the heavily altered loft building: we discovered the magic and potential in a humble structure, the new design augments the scale of the building, transforming the “no-style”, scarred facade, into the physical representation of the Institution. The addition of the rooftop portico, which hides the bulkheads, contributes to rebalancing the scale of the street, which is dominated by larger buildings.

The design connects to the adjacent landmarked buildings: folded aluminum pilasters add directionality and create unexpected shadows echoing cast-iron details, the subtle articulation of the spandrels recalls the large rusticated stones of nearby historic buildings. The metal façade panels, which TRA has used widely on projects, intentionally differs from ornate historic detailing to highlight the contemporary, but contextual aesthetic.

On the interior, the community-driven design of the three headquarters interior spaces bridges private and public spaces. The sustainable, comfortable interiors, take advantage of the carefully restored original cast-iron columns and of the vaulted ceiling, which adds to the comfort of the spaces, by giving the illusion of a continuous skylight. The aesthetic is familiar and unfamiliar, its duality creates serenity and excitement for the user and visitors.

The SBA HQ are anchored by a three-story open stair, the community-driven design large landings are also a meeting place that fosters the connections between the departments The first-floor public space, defined by the “Street” houses the reception, SBA store and conference center.

“The Street” symbolizes the interface between the SBA and the community, it houses the reception, store and conference center. It is where all the public events take place.The materiality of the street includes cobblestone-like pavers, the original cast-iron columns and original vaulted ceilings exposed in all the main spaces. The street is animated further by the “billboards”, interactive digital displays, that describe the mission of the SBA and memorialize the members

The next phase of the interiors, the graphic program, will curate the celebration of the Union History, thru photos, artifacts that document the close ties between the Union and the Boroughs.

The second floor reception area, functions similarly to the first floor, but is intended for the executive private receptions and to encourage employees interractions. All service and support spaces are located in the lower level.

The familiar but dignified materials provide a sense of safety, assurance and permanence, . the design of the interiors is functionally specific to the SBA’s mission, ethos and contemporary culture.

As it often happened before, one successful project generated more work along the street, TRA studio was hired to renovate 35 Worth Street, following the successful conversion of 173 West Broadway, 6 Cortland Alley and the New York Academy of Arts on Franklin Street.

The accretive value of the interventions in Tribeca, contributed to the transformation of the Tribeca streetscape.

THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

This project exemplifies our own brand of the architect-led design-build process, since it was the client’s request to be minimally involved, we also foresaw the client’s vision and made it a reality: we acted as the developer, the architect, the interior designer, the client’s representative and the construction manager.

TRA oversaw architectural design, project management, and construction supervision, under a single framework to ensure efficient coordination among disciplines and minimized administrative complexity for the client. TRA was asked to act as both the owner’s representative and construction manager. TRA selected the general contractor and worked closely with the General Contractor, assisting with the project administration, including procurement, obtaining bids, evaluating change orders, tracking, scheduling, all working within the set budget. TRA followed the construction project daily through site meetings, zoom meetings and a constant stream of images uploaded on a shared drive.

In order to ensure that project was going to be built on time and on budget, the team adopted model-based delivery practices throughout the construction phases. The Revit model has been shared with the subs and continuously updated in a collaborative process. TRA also investigated and implemented the latest techniques to improve scheduling and workflow, such as layout printing on site, and facilitated offsite construction techniques when possible.

Siteline360 recently was provided the opportunity to deploy the new HP SitePrint Robot on a design-build project with TRA Studios in Manhattan.
From the very beginning of the project coordination and communications was top-notch and we are extremely proud to have been part of the team working on this project.