The Process

In early 1995, after having brought the west block 10-story building to working order, we began to open the subdivided 300-foot central covered rail yard. This natural part of the concourse was the easiest to initiate, with respect to our layout. Our plan is not only a response to the existing context, but is also a lineal, one might say musical event moving from Avenue to Avenue.

On ascending the ramp from 10th Avenue through a high bay of the Deco building, a semicircular space allows for a change in direction on reaching the dock level covered rail shed. A control house at midpoint in the rail shed has been opened with catanary arches to provide a resisting point and glowing floor, before reaching the fountain. The fountain sits at the transition between rail yard and the deep building interiors and presents very different aspects for each approach. The concourse then continues on to where it ducks under an interior light court, sweeps around a massive freight elevator core, once more under a light court and back out to 9th Avenue.

As in a good Jazz score, there is always room for soloists and improvisation, so it is with a plan. With the removal of existing layers of construction proceeding, ground rules were established in response to the revealed conditions.

1. Not to finish out, but to express all new openings in existing masonry by showing how they were made.

2. Allow the floors of various buildings to remain where possible in the new concourse, and thus leave evidence of their former existence.

3. Gently sandblast existing brick and concrete enough to reveal its character and color with traces of the original paint, and rely on the natural colors of both old and new materials.

4. Reuse all brick available from demolition, in combination with new concrete block as stripes, projections, or in combination with glass block.

5. A dialog between old and new through the consistent use of aluminum and glass, in combination with existing elements, defining the limits of the public corridor.
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6. So as not to lose sight of the market's main wholesale activity, transparency within all tenant spaces was encouraged, thus allowing views as deep as the loading bays and street beyond.

7. The presence of sculpture by Mark Mennin, which integrates itself into the building's context through the carving of large scale New York State granite "rough backs." These are found sculpturally in the fountain and on both the Avenue entrances and concourse, and architecturally as spandrels, sills, steps, counters, etc.

8. The reuse of existing elements such as steel plates, lamps, rails, grilles, doors, windows, columns, cast iron lintels, structural steel, and assorted found objects.

All the above, in combination with a certain level of freedom to improvise on the part of masons, welders, mechanics, sculptor, architect, structural engineer and developer contributed to the market's unique character.