Box Services LLC
A 19th-century building in New York's Meatpacking District is transformed into vogue photography Studios.
Photo © Catherine Tighe
Photo © Catherine Tighe
Photo © Catherine Tighe
Image courtesy Deborah Berke & Partners Architects LLP
Image courtesy Deborah Berke & Partners Architects LLP
Image courtesy Deborah Berke & Partners Architects LLP
Architects & Firms
New York, New York
Box Services LLC photography Studio specializes in digital retouching and production for fashion photographers, magazines, and artists. Their new headquarters, a renovated 17,500-square-foot, three-story, 19th-century building in New York’s Meatpacking District, is a crisp interpretation of an industrial building. The architecture distinguishes the Studio’s digital technologies with reminders of previous occupants—butchers, printers, artists—in the exposed timber construction and formerly low-tech production spaces newly coordinated with high-tech needs.
A massive horizontal security door protects the entrance and folds up to double as an awning during business hours, complementing the district’s ubiquitous canopies. Six large steel sash windows puncture the black painted brick facade.
A new skylight and atrium illuminate workspaces down to the ground floor, organizing the building according to lighting requirements at each stage of production. On the top floor are north-lit presentation rooms behind the facade, the light-filled center, and executive offices. The second floor accommodates administrative space around the atrium, and a darkened retouching Studio at the rear of the building. On the ground floor, the light well illuminates the archive. Open spaces on each floor are designed for both common activities and photo shoots.
PeopleOwner Architect Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Engineer(s) Mechanical, Plumbing & Sprinkler: Electrical: General contractor Photographer(s) |
ProductsExterior cladding: Windows Glazing Doors Metal doors (interior): painted hollow metal interior doors, typ. Special doors (sound control, X-ray, etc.): darkrooms have revolving darkroom doors by ESECO-Speedmaster Hardware Hinges: Stanley Interior finishes: Custom stainless steel photography sinks: Ready-made kitchen cabinets: Mott Manufacturing Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore, flat white interior paint, typ.; one office has Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint Wallcoverings: painted gwb at all office and gallery spaces, typ.; 4”x4” white wall tile at all photography spaces Paneling: gallery spaces have painted, magnetic metal wall panels for hanging photography work Plastic laminate: Formica ColorCore at all custom desktops and workstations Special surfacing: Lighting Task lighting: gallery spaces have Elliptipar fixtures with custom lenses for precise color rendering Conveyance Plumbing Specialized photography equipment Add any additional building components or special equipment that made a significant contribution to this project: Significant Structural Changes: On the façade, the existing fire escape was removed and new window and door openings were constructed. An elevator, two stairwells, and an accessibility ramp were added. The first floor, which needed to be completely reconstructed, is a structural concrete slab. Several skylights were added at the upper floor Finishes: There were very few, if any, applied interior finishes. Existing finishes were painted, but were left exposed as much as possible, especially at floors and ceilings (polished concrete at first floor; wood planks on heavy timber beams at upper floors). Gallery and office spaces were made as pristine as possible, but most other work spaces and circulation spaces expose the ductwork, plumbing pipes, sprinkler pipes, and electrical conduit.
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