A futuristic new shipping container building is coming to Socrates Sculpture Park. In celebration of the park’s 30th anniversary, NYC Parks recently released renderings of “The Cubes”, a two-story, 2,640-square-foot building made out of shipping containers. Designed by cargotecture mavens LOT-EK to reflect the park’s dedication to adaptive reuse, the building will house the facility’s arts education programs, gallery space, and administrative offices.
Located at the sculpture park’s main entrance on Vernon Boulevard, The Cubes will be the park’s first permanent on-site administration building. The structure will be made out of 18 shipping containers and be powered by solar panels installed on the roof. Transparent windows will “stripe” diagonally along the sides of the walls, providing light on the interior as well as lovely views of the park.
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The interior space will be split between 1,200 square feet of office space and an additional 960 square feet of flexible multi-purpose space dedicated to educational programming. The building will also have space for indoor presentations by featured artists and a 480-square-foot shaded deck area used for open-air events.
According to the architects, the building’s design was created to be representative of the park’s mission, which focuses on blending reclamation, revitalization, and creative expression. “We are thrilled to create a new home that will expand our programmatic possibilities and secure our future as an arts organization in New York City,” said John Hatfield, Socrates Sculpture Park executive director, in a press release. “LOT-EK’s design is an innovative contemporary work of architecture that conceptually and aesthetically reflects the Park’s history, connects to the Park today, and provides a platform for its future.”
Images via LOT-EK
