Collaborative Studio

New York, NY

Housed in a former table cloth factory, these offices were designed and built by LSS to house its new studio space. Taking into consideration the context of Chinatown and the Lower East Side, LSS developed an unassuming yet expressive and welcoming presence on the block. Hester Street Collaborative (the community nonprofit design affiliate of LSS) has their workshop in the storefront. The interior of the building was extended and skylights were added for natural light. Below the largest skylight a suspended steel stair links the two floors of the architecture studio.

For cost control, off-the-shelf elements are used throughout in unconventional ways. Steel floor joists are suspended with steel cables and repurposed as shelving, and extruded polycarbonate panels give privacy to workstations and the conference room while allowing light through. LSS experimented with dyes and stains to give depth to the economical fiberboard millwork throughout.