The design divides the upper floor level into thirds to create a sequence of distinct spaces. Elevated above the sidewalk, an entry gallery overlooks Walker Street, forming a space of transition between the city and the gallery sequence. An opening in a new wall leads into the main gallery space, a 35-foot square with 14-foot high walls. At the rear, offices and meeting spaces are organized under a skylight with vertical views of the inner block and sky. By cutting a new opening in the floor and adding a steel stair, we extended the gallery sequence to the lower level. Here, spaces dedicated to video and private viewing are joined with storage and support areas.

Our goal was to create an environment for art that is simultaneously neutral and site-specific. The large-scale white display walls take advantage of the proportions of the original loft, while the use of materials and architectural detail introduces sensory qualities that complement the experience of the art. The historic cast-iron columns, stripped of paint, are left without their missing ornamental capitals. A new wood floor forms a continuous surface throughout, and new steel assemblages of wire mesh and bent plates form a delicate frame to the stair and double-height space connecting the floors.

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