Park Avenue Armory: Gilded Landmark as Experimental Art Platform – 1.24.2017

How are the design interventions and preservation work to the historic interiors of the Park Avenue Armory enabling this landmark to become New York’s newest cultural institution featuring music, dance, theater, and visual arts? Whether against the backdrop of the Armory’s highly decorative Gilded Age rooms or in the more industrial Drill Hall, artists’ creations are strongly influenced by the spatial and decorative qualities of this unique building.

Representatives from Herzog & de Meuron, PBDW Architects, Foreground Conservation Arts, and the Park Avenue Armory will present highlights of the transformative process of restoring and renovating this Gilded Age building, including the delicate insertion of new infrastructure, designing for code compliance, and the conservation of the outstanding architectural features in four of the period rooms completed to date. This evening’s panel discussion will offer an opportunity for reflection on issues of how to address the loss of historic material, integrating modern systems with period finishes, and the rich interaction between contemporary art and historic architecture.