Hired by a prominent photographic post-production studio, Deborah Berke Partners developed a center for a growing business and brand. The firm started with a derelict and unoccupied three-story warehouse located in the Meatpacking District before that neighborhood was chic. In an extensive renovation of the building, the firm organized each floor around a central hall defined by a vertical hole cut through the building. This “cut” visually connects the building`s many components, including labs, studios, darkrooms, production and printing facilities, viewing spaces and offices. It also provides natural light to the center of the building. Most significant was the transformation of the façade, an arrangement of a simple grid of boldly-large windows in a striking black-brick wall. It sits, both mysterious and arresting, on busy West 14th Street."
