Downtown design destination - Artworld - Center for Architecture, New York - Brief Article

Art in America, Nov, 2003 by Tracey Hummer

With the Oct. 7 opening of the 12,000-square-foot, $2.5-million Center for Architecture, New York has a new design destination. Located at 536 LaGuardia Place between West 3rd and Bleecker Streets, the venue was conceived by the firm Andrew Berman Architect, which converted the street floor, basement and subbasement of a 1911 industrial loft building.

The 64-foot-wide aluminum and glass storefront allows passersby and visitors to peer inside. By cutting away sections of the ground and basement floors, the design opens up the core of the plan, allowing the deep, dramatic space to be bathed in natural light. Exhibition and presentation spaces, meeting rooms and offices fill the three levels. Serving as client and primary tenant, the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects has finally relocated to a permanent home after occupying various provisional quarters in midtown over the years. The New York Foundation for Architecture, the chapter's nonprofit entity, shares the new space. The center will serve as a public resource for information and discussion about architecture, design, construction and planning. Three inaugural exhibitions on these topics will fill the galleries through Nov. 26.