Art, entertainment and commodities : eroded boundaries in a mixed-use building in SoHo, New York

Abstract

SoHo, in New York City, is a neighborhood with an intense mixture of diverse activities. However, its character is changing as more shops are moving in and forcing existing galleries out of their street level spaces or out of the neighborhood altogether. This project proposes a mixed-use building on an infill site in SoHo that condenses a mix of programs currently dispersed throughout the neighborhood and puts them into a single building. By integrating these diverse programs into a single design, the project confronts contemporary questions about the distinctions between art, entertainment and commodity. Within the thesis, unified modes of display, programmatic and spatial overlaps, and visual sequences are the means of architecturally eroding these boundaries.