Basel-based architects Herzog & de Meuron have transformed a derelict 115-year-old power plant in Brooklyn, New York, into 170,000 sq ft of workshop space for artists and fabricators. The Turbine Hall of the power plant was repaired and preserved, exposing concrete vaults, brick chases, glazed tilework, and graffiti from the time when the site was known as the ‘Bat Cave’. The upper level of the Turbine Hall, with its exposed structure displaying refurbished steel trusses, is left as an open flexible space for exhibitions and events.
On the site of the Boiler House, which was demolished in the 1950s, the architects designed a concrete building to sit on the existing foundations, minimising excavations. The window openings replicate those of the Turbine Hall and the exposed internal structure features concrete columns and slabs. Photo. Upper floors of the Turbine House. © Iwan Baan. Herzog de Meuron
