Lecture – Claire Weisz & Paul Bauer – The Salt Shed

The Salt Shed has quickly become an iconic building in New York City.

Rising nearly 70 feet along the Hudson River at the intersection of Canal Street and West Street, this highly visible structure houses 5,000 tons of salt. The Salt Shed’s faceted planes enliven the reinforced concrete enclosure. The structure tapers toward the bottom, creating more pedestrian space.

The Salt Shed has also presented a photographic opportunity for tourists, fashion photographers and source material for Soho Photo Gallery member photographer Bob Leonard, who employed images of the Salt Shed in his new exhibition, Urban Patterns.

Dattner Architects and WXY Architecture + Urban Design collaborated on the design of the Salt Shed. In this lecture, Claire and Paul will discuss their process in creating this highly utilitarian yet beautiful and striking structure as well as their perspective on urban design.

Claire Weisz is an architect and urbanist, and a founding principal of WXY Studio. Claire focuses on innovative approaches to public space, structures, and cities. WXY has received the League Prize from the Architectural League of New York, as well as being selected as one of the League’s Emerging Voices practices in 2011, in addition to numerous awards from AIA National, AIANY, and the American Planning Association.

Paul Bauer is a principal at Dattner Architects. As the design leader for many of the firm’s large infrastructure projects, Paul takes an iterative and research-based approach to architecture. Paul’s commitment to enhancing the built environment is further expressed through his professional affiliations, including the AIA New York Chapter’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.