The School of Visuals Arts engaged Spacesmith to renovate their popular MFA Photography, Video, and Related Media program which occupies the 6,000 sf ground floor of a former warehouse building. The project was divided into two phases: the first addressing all classroom, studio, faculty, and common spaces; the second a new multi-purpose area connecting the façade to the interior.
Our challenge was to marry high traffic student areas with accessible, yet private faculty offices, focusing on air, light, and sound control. Our team reorganized the program by creating a circulation path that intuitively flows in and out of student hubs and faculty spaces.
At the department entrance off the building’s core, circulation splits. One pathway leads to the instruction and production areas, including two acoustically isolated editing rooms and a customized shooting studio; the other to the faculty offices separated from noise and activity. Both then meet at the front of the building and pour into the former loading dock located at street level three feet below. This unused area created a new programmatic element; a multi-purpose meeting and gallery space now visible to the public after opening the façade, which had been sealed for decades. 2,000 sf was gained, allowing the program to expand its offerings.
The polished concrete floor of the interior level extends diagonally into the loading dock, creating storage underneath, and is flanked by a freestanding movable wall. With a tackable surface and a large industrial hinge, this wall provides pin-up space and can unfold to divide the room in two. We highlighted the building’s industrial heritage in this space through use of reclaimed wood and blackened steel materials, as well as preservation of the original herringbone brick floor. Reclaimed wood benches on rollers and a small stair connect the upper and lower levels, creating additional seating for events.
