Master transformer: The Shed is a liberating exercise in flexible architecture

If you happen to find yourself staring at New York’s Dubai-esque Hudson Yards development any time soon, you’ll certainly notice a skeletal structure whose sharp, welded steel frame resembles a giant colander or some kind of space-age torture device. If you look a little closer, you’ll see the whole thing is resting on giant steel rollers.
Welcome to The Shed, a 200,000 sq ft theatre and arts space designed by Diller Scofidio and Renfro in collaboration with Rockwell Group that— when construction is complete— will literally expand and contract depending on how it will be used. The facility is set to open in Spring 2019.
Elizabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro calls the $435m building ‘architecture of infrastructure, that’s built for flexibility’. She adds: ‘We asked the question, “What will art look like in 20, 30, or 40 years?” and we realised we didn’t know.’
Rendering of The Shed and Lawrence Weiner’s artwork ‘IN FRONT OF ITSELF’, which will be installed in the forecourt
And so the building’s configurations are endless. At its core The Shed consists of an eight-level base building containing galleries, theatres, creative labs, and rehearsal spaces and a telescoping, ETFE-clad outer shell containing a vast, open hall for large scale performances, events, and installations. The shell, braced with bolted connections, moves on six steel wheels (each has a 6ft diameter) via a rack and pinion system whose horsepower is, somehow, just higher than that of a Prius. It can open in close in just a few minutes.
The wall-less hall, topped by a slatted steel theatrical deck and fitted with rolling blackout shades (that can also create an acoustic seal), can be become anything, from a giant opera venue to a public plaza. The base building’s interior spaces are also large and open so they can be configured in multiple ways through changing seating and temporary walls. They open to the adjacent hall via tall, continuous openings, allowing them to essentially become balcony seating. The permutations seem to be endless, which is exactly what the team wants.
‘It’s about flexibility being liberating, not confusing,’ said Rockwell, the frame of the hall moving around him. As the arts continue to morph along with changing currents and technologies this will no doubt come in handy. Why try to predict the future when you can create a building that will change with it?
Currently under construction on Manhattan’s west side, where the High Line meets Hudson Yards, The Shed is scheduled to open to the public in spring 2019
Rendering of The Shed, view from 30th Street looking northwest
The Shed, under construction (May 2017)
Rendering of The Shed, nested
Rendering of The Shed, deployed
The Shed will encompass a 200,000 sq ft venue comprising an eight-level base structure and a telescoping outer shell
The bogie wheel installation for The Shed (March 2017)
INFORMATION
For more information, visit The Shed website and the Diller Scofidio + Renfro website
ADDRESS
The Shed (opening 2019)
545 West 30th Street
New York, NY 10001
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Byredo holiday collection draws inspiration from Wim Wenders and Georgia O’Keefe
Byredo’s creative image director Lucia Pica speaks to Wallpaper* in an exclusive interview, revealing her off-kilter design process
By Mary Cleary Published
-
2024 Pantone Color of the Year is looking deliciously peachy
Peach Fuzz is Pantone Color of the Year – time to refeather your nest in a comforting hue?
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Design Miami 2023 explores how design responds to the world around us
Design Miami 2023 (until 10 December), curated by Anna Carnick, is guided by the theme of ‘Where We Stand’
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
‘Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania’: two exhibitions bring new life to historic designs
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania and Fallingwater designs, realised and unrealised, are celebrated in two exhibitions, at The Westmoreland and at Fallingwater itself
By Audrey Henderson Published
-
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival design by Studio Gang revealed
The first images for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival by Studio Gang have been unveiled
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Learnings from the Architecture Sarasota MOD Weekend 2023
Architecture Sarasota MOD Weekend 2023 highlights local midcentury architects’ timeless responses to sustainability and a site-specific approach
By Angella d'Avignon Published
-
Roy Lichtenstein studio is now home to the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program
The 1912 Roy Lichtenstein studio has been updated by Johnston Marklee to include individual artist studios, a seminar room and other facilities
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
This artist’s studio on Long Island is carefully placed amidst a wooded site
Architects Worrell Yeung designed the Springs artist's studio to blend into the trees, with leafy views from the lofty atelier
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Lever House in New York gets a 21st-century makeover
Some 70 years after its completion, SOM returns to Lever House in New York, bringing the high-rise landmark to the 21st century
By Diana Budds Published
-
FRPO’s Oregon house explores modern materials and a circular plan
This single-storey Oregon house in the Pacific Northwest offers a radical new take on suburban living
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Camino House is a revived 1960s home in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley
Lindsay Gerber’s tactful refurbishment of Camino House brings a quiet glamour to the wood-panelled 1960s home in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley
By Shonquis Moreno Published