CAS was asked to reimagine the Rudolf Steiner School dining hall and kitchen, located in the cellar of a McKim, Mead & White mansion on 79th Street in Manhattan. We set out to transform the space into a warm and inviting place for student lunch, staff, and community gatherings. The school’s food program follows the biodynamic principals of its founder Rudolf Steiner.
The project was a gut renovation. The material palette consists of a slatted acoustic maple ceiling to hide the extensive mechanical equipment. This is complemented by custom maple millwork including the tables and benches. Throughout the space, handmade ceramics lend accents of vivid color. Ceramics from the same company are also used in the serving pieces. There is a seamless anti-microbial epoxy floor throughout the kitchen and public areas.
The renovation included all new lighting, providing proper color temperature to highlight the food and finishes. Decorative pendants sit above a central community table that is organized around an exposed steel column.
The kitchen itself has been reorganized around a large open marble serving and work counter. Pivoting doors at either end of the workspace dramatically improve the flow and functionality of the space. Adjacent areas were organized for a large walk-in refrigerator and pantry space, freeing up valuable kitchen space for prep and cleaning.
Paramount in the design are the new mechanical systems that improve indoor air quality and provide adequate cooling. The new high efficiency ventilation and air conditioning includes heat recovery and multiple layers of ionic, UV and Merv8 filtration. The resulting approach increases fresh air into the space by 400%.
Elena Cannon at Gluckman Mayner Architects
This 25,000-square-foot gallery has the scale of a small museum and the spatial versatility to meet a variety of gallery requirements. The program consists of a 2,400-square-foot Main Gallery, two smaller sky-lit galleries, a Special Purpose Gallery, a Small Prints and Video Showroom, a Private Showroom with 23-foot-high viewing walls, as well as office and art handling space. The raised roof of the Long Term Installation Gallery provides a 6,000-square-foot, column-free space capable of accommodating large-scale sculpture installations. During the day, a polycarbonate clerestory bathes the space in natural light, while at night it serves as a beacon in the Chelsea gallery district.
Elena Cannon at Gluckman Mayner Architects
This museum is located in the historic city center of Málaga, birthplace of Pablo Picasso. A 17th-century palace was fully restored to house the main entry and Permanent Collection galleries. Six new buildings were carefully inserted into the urban fabric to house the ambitious program, totaling 80,000 square feet. A large building, containing the Special Exhibition galleries, and a series of smaller buildings, containing ancillary program, create the boundaries of a new public plaza. The new structure respects the scale, texture and articulation of the existing built context, while their simple geometric forms, rendered in white plaster, clearly announce a sympathetic modern intervention.
Elena Cannon at Gluckman Mayner Architects with the Office for Metropolitan Architecture
This new home for the Second Stage Theater in Time Square undertook the renovation of an aging bank building on 42nd street. The renovation included ground floor lobby and ticketing utilizing the original bank vault. On the second floor the existing windows of the banking hall were refurbished with new soundproof glazing. A new seating wedge occupies the large open space. The requisite stage curtain can be drawn around the seating and be pulled along the wall of windows at theater time. Rehearsal and office space occupy the upper floors of the building.
Kevin Cannon at KPF
