Freeze Frame

A closer look at the hottest solutions from May

Staff -- Interior Design, 5/1/2004 12:00:00 AM

Over and out

The New York Tolerance Center, where police officers, teachers, and other professionals immerse themselves in issues of bigotry and racism, is a spin-off of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. And that's not all that the Manhattan facility owes to California. An installation called the Millennium Machine, which deals with global human rights, is defined by C-shape ribs manufactured in City of Industry and pieced together on-site.

"Like whalebone, the ribs have their own structural integrity," says Scott Hunter, NBBJ's project architect for the 18,500-square-foot space. Supported by steel bolts anchored by plates in the floor, the powder-coated perforated-aluminum counters curve up and overhead. Their top portions, suspended from aircraft cables, contain speakers and down-lights. The ribs then extend above a backlit acrylic wall and widen as they curve over an adjacent theater, where a film on the Holocaust is shown. "Come Together," page 256. —J.M.

Small luxuries

Thinking as an architect—using the left side of her brain—Margaret Helfand determined to install inexpensive materials and custom modular furniture at Time Out New York. Then, switching to the right brain, she splashed unexpected focal points around the magazine's office.

While most floors are bare sealed concrete, Helfand Architecture installed colorful striped carpet tiles in corridors and the lounge dominated by her muscular cantilevered staircase. The treads and landing feature mesquite butcher block, and the railing of custom raw-steel uprights terminates in a welcome little flourish.

Where the partition system of oriented strand board makes right angles, Helfand enriched the corners with notched compositions of interlocking panels—lacquered with steel and aluminum dust. The small panels are actually leftovers, and prefabrication off-site helped contain cost, too. Left brain all over again. "Time Out!" page 222. —C.K.