Remnant Ministries Center
New York City

This project entailed the transformation of an existing building in New York City into a public center that facilitates community education and outreach programs.

The building’s main interior space, which spans 100’, was originally a single volume designed to house a union hall theater. When a television production company obtained the property, the theater was sectioned into two levels, resulting in 10,000 sf of dark, compressed office space.

The design of this project aims to enliven the building’s interior layers by creating various apertures that bring light and air into an otherwise impermeable space. A large central light scoop transfers natural light into meeting rooms on the second floor as well as the main gallery and lecture space on the main floor. Seminar rooms and offices, which occupy both levels in the rear of the building, are exposed to external light through a narrow courtyard and a series of inserted skylights.

Following the diversity of the neighborhood, in all its scale, vivid color and diverse form, spaces varied in scale, sectional form, light and color. While the spaces are organized around an administrative and circulation core, they do not tailor to any specific function. The goal was to create specificity of place without the constraints of specific use.