The Shed

 theatre, exhibition center, Modern (architecture)

6-story modernist structure completed in 2018 as part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with the Rockwell Group as a multi-purpose cultural and exhibition space, the exterior's form is somewhat reminiscent of the Elgin Laundry Building in Chicago. The Shed’s movable shell (it is described as the first movable building in New York) is made of an exposed steel diagrid frame, clad in translucent cushions of a strong and lightweight Teflon-based polymer (ETFE), and can be deployed in only five minutes, as the push of a button. The shell weighs 8 million pounds and sits on eight wheels; the total surface contact for each wheel carrying 1 million pounds is the size of the palm of one's hand. It uses the horsepower of one Prius engine, and the movement is absolutely silent.

Deployed, the shell creates a 17,000 SF, light-, sound- and temperature-controlled space, named The McCourt, that can serve a variety of uses. The space accommodates an audience of 1,250 seated/2,700 standing; flexible overlap space in the two adjoining galleries of the base building allows for an expanded audience of up to 3,000. The shell’s ceiling operates as an occupiable theatrical deck with rigging and structural capacity throughout. Large operable doors on its north and east sides allow The McCourt to function as an open-air pavilion.

theshed.org