1/10
New entry for the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA). New deep framed windows for the museum and lobby replace existing punched windows.
2/10
Hanson Street facade. All eight floor and cellar were fully converted to exhibition and office space for not-for-profit arts groups.
3/10
BAM/LDC offices located on the eight floor. Glazed partition at offices allow light to penetrate throughout the interior.
4/10
BAM/LDC offices are organized around a central bamboo filing and layout core.
5/10
80 Arts is an arts incubator for not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations.
6/10
Fourth floor break space and conference rooms entry area.
7/10
Expanded lobby windows, entry and overhead stainless mesh ceiling.
8/10
80 Arts program distribution axon diagrams indicating public, private, shared and service spaces.
9/10
BAM/LDC offices plan (eight floor).
10/10
South communal garden landscape plan.

BAMLDC 80 ARTS: DAVIS ARTS BUILDING

BAM/Local Development Corporation , BAM Cultural Arts District, Brooklyn, New York

80 Arts: The James E. Davis Arts Building is the first step in realizing the objectives outlined by the BAM Cultural District Master Plan, developed OMA/Diller+Scofidio, and provides a range of spaces for a diverse group of small arts organizations. Through a series light-touch interventions, RL transformed the existing 1929, 30,000sf former laboratory building into affordable office spaces with shared amenities designed to encourage interactions among the non-profit groups and community. Bamboo, acrylic, & aluminum introduce a contemporary sensibility to the existing masonry, concrete and steel structure. A sense of openness and economy guided design decisions to eliminate low ceilings, exposing the beam structure of the building to both create more spacious interior environments and to reveal the building structure's character. At the street level, the existing facade's window openings have been expanded to increase visual access into and out of public lobby and tenant spaces.

Shared conference spaces are positioned mid-level in the building to foster mixing among tenants and visitors. The spaces are organized around a central, bamboo core with a moving partition that pivots to combine the spaces for large events. BAM/LDC's offices are also organized around a bamboo core, freeing the buildings light perimeter for conference areas and glazed offices. A new garden surfaced in islands of slate defined by rectilinear stands of tall, live bamboo, is planned to create a series of future outdoor rooms. An exterior art installation, LightSwitch, (not realized) was designed to register the varied activity levels within the building with light patterns produced by the simple, semi-conscious act of flipping a light switch.

Winner of the 2005 Building Brooklyn Award for Offices.