Elizabeth Diller ! (b. 17 june 1954 in Lodz, Poland)
Wow, today I’m so excited to share my shear adoration for a woman who I consider to be one of the most influential architects of the last 20 years.
Elizabeth Diller is a partner of Diller Scofidio + Renfro . Since the 2000s, she has become well-known for her work with conceptual architecture, museums and other cultural institutions. Diller’s cross-genre work has been distinguished with TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” list and the first MacArthur Foundation fellowship awarded in the field of architecture.
Most recently, she led two cultural works significant to New York: The Shed and the expansion of MoMA. Diller is a member of the UN Council on Urban Initiatives and a Professor of Architectural Design at Princeton University.
The Shed ( https://lnkd.in/ehHCgWP8 )
Photo: Iwan Baan
The Shed’s eight-level base building includes two levels of gallery space; the versatile Griffin Theater; and The Tisch Skylights, which comprise a rehearsal space, a creative lab for local artists, and a skylit event space. The McCourt, an iconic space for large-scale performances, installations, and events, is formed when The Shed’s telescoping outer shell is deployed from over the base building and glides along rails onto the adjoining plaza.
Photo: Iwan Baan
The building is able to expand and contract by rolling the telescoping shell on rails. The Shed’s kinetic system is inspired by the industrial past of the High Line and the West Side Railyard. Through the use of conventional building systems for the fixed structure and adapting gantry crane technology to activate the outer shell, the institution is able to accommodate large-scale indoor and open-air programming on demand.
The Shed’s open infrastructure can be permanently flexible for an unknowable future and responsive to variability in scale, media, technology, and the evolving needs of artists.
Photo: Iwan Baan
Movable Shell
The Shed’s 120-foot tall (37 m) movable shell is made of an exposed steel diagrid frame, clad in translucent cushions of ETFE. This material has the thermal properties of insulating glass at a fraction of the weight. The Shed’s ETFE panels are some of the largest ever produced, measuring almost 70 feet (21 m) in length in some areas. The building is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification and to exceed New York’s energy codes by 25%. Despite the shell’s two-million-cubic-foot interior, only the lower 30% will need to be temperature controlled.
Photo: Iwan Baan
About the Author:
Bruno Dursin – Managing Director at Believe in Steel. Bruno has more than 30 years of experience in promoting steel & steel solutions. His clients benefit from his extensive network within the building industry.
