SITE Studio & Offices

Bayard Building, New York City, New York, USA, 1984

In 1984 SITE renovated the second floor interior of architect Louis Sullivan’s Bayard Building at 65 Bleecker Street in New York City. The space is designed to include a large gallery for exhibiting SITE models and drawings, a series of four principals’ offices, a conference room, model shop, and general production area for architectural work. Preserving the decorative capitals on Sullivan’s majestic columns and other historic details, SITE created an interior design using wall dividers with crowning cornices (a Sullivan tradition, normally executed in wood); however, in this case, to bring daylight into the central loft, the partitions are made of the wire lath and metal studs normally used to support plaster walls. All historic references in the building are retained; but the entire interior is filled with light and the general appearance of the space is both respectful of Sullivan and contemporary. From a functional standpoint, the metal grid walls offer endless opportunities for displaying art, hanging shelves, and tacking up messages with magnets.