New York, NY (March 30, 2022) — HS2 Architecture (HS2) announces the completion of 52 Walker Street, a new 5,000sf gallery space for James Cohan. With the Tribeca art scene continuing to grow, the gallery, whose art space at 48 Walker Street was also designed by HS2, returned to the architects to design the space on the second floor of the historic building next door.
The addition of the 52 Walker Street gallery doubles James Cohan’s exhibition space, bringing it to a total of 12,000 square feet. The expansion was necessitated by the growth of the gallery’s program and large-scale installations by artists including Firelei Báez, Grace Weaver, Teresa Margolles, and Yinka Shonibare CBE.
The design of the new location highlights the dramatic proportions of the loft building. In contrast to 48 Walker, the three large gallery spaces at 52 Walker maintain the original 15-foot-tall tin ceilings, while reception, offices and viewing room have new lowered ten- and twelve-foot ceilings. Six tall, street-facing windows flood the initial gallery spaces with natural light. The loft building’s original maple floors have been preserved and restored throughout. A viewing room with a 10-foot-high art storage screen system completes the program.
Much effort was expended in considering how the viewer would perceive the gallery, where the offices were situated, how to make guests feel welcome and how people would flow through the space. The importance of feeling invited to view the artwork and the appropriate procession through the gallery guided the design that remains flexible for showing the work of different artists in different placements.
In addition to designing James Cohan’s Brooklyn home, this is the fifth gallery HS2 Architecture has designed for James Cohan.
A selection of photos can be found here.
About HS2 Architecture
HS2 Architecture was founded by Thomas Hut and Jane Sachs in 1994. The team is made up of highly skilled, creative and committed architects, many of whom have been together for more than a decade. The firm’s portfolio ranges from townhouses, luxury retail, lofts and galleries to a hotel, beach houses, museums and places of work. It includes some of the most recognizable buildings in New York City—Gramercy Park Hotel, Chanel Flagship Store at 57th Street, Ralph Lauren’s Madison Avenue Flagship Store, and Palazzo Chupi/360 West 11th Street—and leading-edge fashion labels from Acne Studios to Frame. Recent projects include the Leonard Riggio Foundation offices as well as two Tribeca galleries for James Cohan.
