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Performa Hub 09

An architectural hub for the Performa Biennial, New York

2009
New York, US
Type: Spatial Design

Commissioned by RoseLee Goldberg

Credits
  • Design by nOffice (Miessen Pflugfelder Nilsson)
  • Local Architect: Nate Lindsey
  • Photography by: Bradley Jones

For the Ground Floor space of the new Cooper Union’s building on Cooper Square, the Berlin-based architectural practice nOffice/Studio Miessen have been commissioned by RoseLee Goldberg/ Performa to design and construct a symbiosis of Performa’s central hub and a pavilion in which nOffice broadcasted an architectural statement.

Acknowledging that they are not performance artists, nOffice explored the thin line between being understood as architects rather than service providers. The practice interpreted architecture as providing and enhancing the performance of matter, but still maintain autonomy of production.

The space at the Cooper Union was designed as a coherent environment and embodied a multiplicity of diverse voice, a democratic archipelago in which hidden structures exposed subliminal yet intended narratives. Amongst a general information counter about the Biennial, Performa Hub also included a screening space, a lecture hall, an archive, a radio and video booth, a kiosk and a small bookstore.