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| New York Chased the Olympics. It Got the Shed Instead. | New York Chased the Olympics. It Got the Shed Instead. |
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| Two weeks before the opening of the Shed, the ambitious $475 million arts center opening where the High Line meets the luxe Hudson Yards development, workers in hard hats were busily turning its biggest theater into a standing-room-only dance floor for the celebration of African-American music that will inaugurate it April 5. | Two weeks before the opening of the Shed, the ambitious $475 million arts center opening where the High Line meets the luxe Hudson Yards development, workers in hard hats were busily turning its biggest theater into a standing-room-only dance floor for the celebration of African-American music that will inaugurate it April 5. |
| When that ends, they will install 1,200 seats for a run of staged Bjork concerts. Then the seating will be reconfigured for it next show, a kung fu musical featuring aerialists and Sia songs. And, by the middle of the summer, the theater’s walls and ceilings will disappear, as its airy, silvery puffer jacket of a shell rolls back on rails to expose an outdoor plaza for free open-air performances. | When that ends, they will install 1,200 seats for a run of staged Bjork concerts. Then the seating will be reconfigured for it next show, a kung fu musical featuring aerialists and Sia songs. And, by the middle of the summer, the theater’s walls and ceilings will disappear, as its airy, silvery puffer jacket of a shell rolls back on rails to expose an outdoor plaza for free open-air performances. |
| New York has never seen a new cultural entity quite like the Shed — and not just because of its unusual building. | New York has never seen a new cultural entity quite like the Shed — and not just because of its unusual building. |
| [See how the Shed’s nesting shell moves on rails to create indoor or outdoor space.] | [See how the Shed’s nesting shell moves on rails to create indoor or outdoor space.] |
| It was born, improbably enough, of the failed attempt to bring the Olympics — and a football stadium — to Manhattan. It began with an idea for a new kind of arts building, before it was entirely clear what would go inside. It was nurtured by the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a billionaire who gambled an eye-popping $75 million in public money on it before it was fully defined — and later matched the amount with a $75 million gift of his own money. And, in an astonishing feat, it raised nearly half a billion dollars before opening. | It was born, improbably enough, of the failed attempt to bring the Olympics — and a football stadium — to Manhattan. It began with an idea for a new kind of arts building, before it was entirely clear what would go inside. It was nurtured by the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a billionaire who gambled an eye-popping $75 million in public money on it before it was fully defined — and later matched the amount with a $75 million gift of his own money. And, in an astonishing feat, it raised nearly half a billion dollars before opening. |
| Now it is opening in the Hudson Yards, the new development that both critics and admirers have likened to Dubai, and which Michael Kimmelman, the architecture critic of The New York Times, lamented was a “supersized suburban-style office park, with a shopping mall and a quasi-gated condo community targeted at the 0.1 percent.” | Now it is opening in the Hudson Yards, the new development that both critics and admirers have likened to Dubai, and which Michael Kimmelman, the architecture critic of The New York Times, lamented was a “supersized suburban-style office park, with a shopping mall and a quasi-gated condo community targeted at the 0.1 percent.” |
| The Shed could become its antidote — if it succeeds in its goal of welcoming the other 99.9 percent. | The Shed could become its antidote — if it succeeds in its goal of welcoming the other 99.9 percent. |
| Some of its backers are calling it the city’s biggest new cultural entity since Lincoln Center opened in the 1960s; others see it more like the emergence of the Park Avenue Armory as a multidisciplinary arts space in 2007. Either way, it is rare for a new institution to attract the kind of lavish support the Shed has, and to open on such a grand scale. | Some of its backers are calling it the city’s biggest new cultural entity since Lincoln Center opened in the 1960s; others see it more like the emergence of the Park Avenue Armory as a multidisciplinary arts space in 2007. Either way, it is rare for a new institution to attract the kind of lavish support the Shed has, and to open on such a grand scale. |
| The Shed was more than a decade in the making, and its birth was not always smooth. “This is a project that had more than nine lives,” said Kate D. Levin, who helped develop the project as Mr. Bloomberg’s cultural affairs commissioner and now serves on the Shed’s board. | The Shed was more than a decade in the making, and its birth was not always smooth. “This is a project that had more than nine lives,” said Kate D. Levin, who helped develop the project as Mr. Bloomberg’s cultural affairs commissioner and now serves on the Shed’s board. |
| It all began more than two decades ago, with the dream of an investor named Daniel L. Doctoroff, who wanted to bring the Olympics to New York. When he became a deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration, he continued the push, calling for the construction of a new football stadium for the Jets on the West Side of Manhattan to boost the city’s Olympics bid. (At one point, he tried to drum up support by lugeing down the steps of City Hall. “I almost killed myself,” he recently recalled. ) | It all began more than two decades ago, with the dream of an investor named Daniel L. Doctoroff, who wanted to bring the Olympics to New York. When he became a deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration, he continued the push, calling for the construction of a new football stadium for the Jets on the West Side of Manhattan to boost the city’s Olympics bid. (At one point, he tried to drum up support by lugeing down the steps of City Hall. “I almost killed myself,” he recently recalled. ) |
| The plan to build the stadium was killed by state officials after it ran into significant community and political opposition, derailing the city’s Olympics bid. But, as part of its effort, the city had already rezoned a broad swath of the West Side — paving the way for what would ultimately become Hudson Yards. One element of the plan, from the beginning, called for building a “to be determined” cultural institution on a small parcel of city-owned land. | The plan to build the stadium was killed by state officials after it ran into significant community and political opposition, derailing the city’s Olympics bid. But, as part of its effort, the city had already rezoned a broad swath of the West Side — paving the way for what would ultimately become Hudson Yards. One element of the plan, from the beginning, called for building a “to be determined” cultural institution on a small parcel of city-owned land. |
| It was the kind of amenity — like the promise of new schools and open space — that is often added to proposed real estate projects to help them win approval. But it also reflected the Bloomberg administration’s broader support for the arts and was a product of its time: As New York worked to recover from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the administration was anxious to reaffirm the city’s position on the world stage. | It was the kind of amenity — like the promise of new schools and open space — that is often added to proposed real estate projects to help them win approval. But it also reflected the Bloomberg administration’s broader support for the arts and was a product of its time: As New York worked to recover from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the administration was anxious to reaffirm the city’s position on the world stage. |
| “In the Bloomberg administration we always saw New York on some level as a competitive entity,” Mr. Doctoroff said, “and thought that New York competes extraordinarily effectively through our cultural institutions.” | “In the Bloomberg administration we always saw New York on some level as a competitive entity,” Mr. Doctoroff said, “and thought that New York competes extraordinarily effectively through our cultural institutions.” |
| Their plans were nebulous at first. | Their plans were nebulous at first. |
| The city started out by holding brainstorming sessions with arts leaders and artists, and decided early on that the new space should be a highly flexible one that could cater to the growing desire of many artists to break out of their silos and blend disciplines. “Dancers were even more interested in collaborating with visual artists,’’ Ms. Levin said. “Musicians really wanted to work with theatrical kinds of expressions of their work.’’ | The city started out by holding brainstorming sessions with arts leaders and artists, and decided early on that the new space should be a highly flexible one that could cater to the growing desire of many artists to break out of their silos and blend disciplines. “Dancers were even more interested in collaborating with visual artists,’’ Ms. Levin said. “Musicians really wanted to work with theatrical kinds of expressions of their work.’’ |
| The architecture firms hired to design it — Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Rockwell Group — were given the task of imagining not only a new structure, but also a new institution. | The architecture firms hired to design it — Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Rockwell Group — were given the task of imagining not only a new structure, but also a new institution. |
| “It was some kind of cultural entity, it was undefined, and it was to be flexible,” the lead architect, Elizabeth Diller, said. | “It was some kind of cultural entity, it was undefined, and it was to be flexible,” the lead architect, Elizabeth Diller, said. |
| “FLEXIBLE was in capital letters,” David Rockwell recalled. “We sort of liked that.” | “FLEXIBLE was in capital letters,” David Rockwell recalled. “We sort of liked that.” |
| They quickly came up with the building’s salient feature: its sliding shell. It was a physical embodiment of that flexibility, but just as crucially it proved a nifty, eye-catching design that became a major selling point for a project still struggling to define itself. And it doubled its footprint. | They quickly came up with the building’s salient feature: its sliding shell. It was a physical embodiment of that flexibility, but just as crucially it proved a nifty, eye-catching design that became a major selling point for a project still struggling to define itself. And it doubled its footprint. |
| Mr. Doctoroff — who went on to run Mr. Bloomberg’s business, Bloomberg L.P., before running Sidewalk Labs, a sister company to Google, and becoming the chairman of the Shed’s board — tends to speak of the project in business terms. “It’s one of the largest cultural start-ups ever,” he said. | Mr. Doctoroff — who went on to run Mr. Bloomberg’s business, Bloomberg L.P., before running Sidewalk Labs, a sister company to Google, and becoming the chairman of the Shed’s board — tends to speak of the project in business terms. “It’s one of the largest cultural start-ups ever,” he said. |
| At one point, he said, its founders market-tested the idea of making it a “cultural time share,” to see if it could be rented to visiting institutions that wanted a New York presence. They initially christened it Culture Shed. “One of the definitions of shed is ‘an open-ended structure with tools,’” Mr. Doctoroff said, “and that’s how we saw this, as a platform for artists.” | At one point, he said, its founders market-tested the idea of making it a “cultural time share,” to see if it could be rented to visiting institutions that wanted a New York presence. They initially christened it Culture Shed. “One of the definitions of shed is ‘an open-ended structure with tools,’” Mr. Doctoroff said, “and that’s how we saw this, as a platform for artists.” |
| There was still no artistic director in place in 2013 when Mr. Bloomberg arranged the $75 million city grant — jump-starting its creation at a moment when other arts projects, including the plan to build a performing arts center at the World Trade Center site, had seemed to stall. (Mr. Bloomberg declined to be interviewed about the Shed.) | There was still no artistic director in place in 2013 when Mr. Bloomberg arranged the $75 million city grant — jump-starting its creation at a moment when other arts projects, including the plan to build a performing arts center at the World Trade Center site, had seemed to stall. (Mr. Bloomberg declined to be interviewed about the Shed.) |
| Such lavish support for an untested concept was initially greeted with skepticism — and more than a little jealousy — from other city arts leaders as they struggled to keep their own institutions afloat in trying times. | Such lavish support for an untested concept was initially greeted with skepticism — and more than a little jealousy — from other city arts leaders as they struggled to keep their own institutions afloat in trying times. |
| But early fears that the city might be creating a cultural white elephant were largely allayed in 2014, when the Shed named its first artistic director and chief executive: Alex Poots, who had founded the Manchester International Festival and, as the artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory, had unexpectedly made the Upper East Side a destination for must-see, cutting-edge art. | But early fears that the city might be creating a cultural white elephant were largely allayed in 2014, when the Shed named its first artistic director and chief executive: Alex Poots, who had founded the Manchester International Festival and, as the artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory, had unexpectedly made the Upper East Side a destination for must-see, cutting-edge art. |
| When Mr. Poots was first approached by the search firm looking for someone to lead the Shed — they had spoken earlier to figures from the visual arts world — he was not interested. | When Mr. Poots was first approached by the search firm looking for someone to lead the Shed — they had spoken earlier to figures from the visual arts world — he was not interested. |
| “When they came knocking, I remember thinking, well, what’s the mission?” he said. | “When they came knocking, I remember thinking, well, what’s the mission?” he said. |
| But he agreed to meet with Mr. Doctoroff — if Mr. Doctoroff would come see one of his shows, Kenneth Branagh’s muddy, bloody “Macbeth,” which was playing at the Park Avenue Armory after a run in Manchester. | |
| “This was not just a touring show; we made it,” he recalled telling Mr. Doctoroff. “And I have one question for you right at the start of this meeting: This show cost $4 million to make, O.K.? If we sell out the run, every single ticket, we would make $3.1 million in box office. So my big question to you is: Is $900,000 an investment in culture and society, or is it a loss?” | “This was not just a touring show; we made it,” he recalled telling Mr. Doctoroff. “And I have one question for you right at the start of this meeting: This show cost $4 million to make, O.K.? If we sell out the run, every single ticket, we would make $3.1 million in box office. So my big question to you is: Is $900,000 an investment in culture and society, or is it a loss?” |
| Mr. Doctoroff’s reply, he said, was: “I’d been warned about you.” | Mr. Doctoroff’s reply, he said, was: “I’d been warned about you.” |
| Before Mr. Poots agreed to take the job, he reshaped the whole idea of the Shed. | Before Mr. Poots agreed to take the job, he reshaped the whole idea of the Shed. |
| He insisted that the Shed commission all new work, sometimes with partners elsewhere. It was a radical departure for an entity that had weighed the cultural time share idea, and a departure for a city whose presenters often import visiting companies who perform works created by theaters and festivals elsewhere. | He insisted that the Shed commission all new work, sometimes with partners elsewhere. It was a radical departure for an entity that had weighed the cultural time share idea, and a departure for a city whose presenters often import visiting companies who perform works created by theaters and festivals elsewhere. |
| “That was a whole different organization that I was describing,” Mr. Poots said, “with twice as many staff and a whole commissioning pot of money that would need to be found.” | “That was a whole different organization that I was describing,” Mr. Poots said, “with twice as many staff and a whole commissioning pot of money that would need to be found.” |
| The board signed off. | The board signed off. |
| Presenting all new work can be exciting. But it’s also risky. Karen Brooks Hopkins, the former president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, put it this way: “Doing a few commissions is complicated — doing all is a little scary.” | Presenting all new work can be exciting. But it’s also risky. Karen Brooks Hopkins, the former president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, put it this way: “Doing a few commissions is complicated — doing all is a little scary.” |
| There was another thing, Mr. Poots said: its original name, Culture Shed, rubbed him the wrong way. | There was another thing, Mr. Poots said: its original name, Culture Shed, rubbed him the wrong way. |
| He asked several artists he trusted for advice. Many said they found the word culture redundant, if not off-putting. Marina Abramovic, the performance artist, offered a branding analogy. “She said: ‘When they named Apple, they didn’t call it Apple Computer,’” Mr. Poots recalled. “Actually, I found out, they did. But they got rid of it — making her point.” | He asked several artists he trusted for advice. Many said they found the word culture redundant, if not off-putting. Marina Abramovic, the performance artist, offered a branding analogy. “She said: ‘When they named Apple, they didn’t call it Apple Computer,’” Mr. Poots recalled. “Actually, I found out, they did. But they got rid of it — making her point.” |
| He asked the artists to put their thoughts in writing so he could send them to the board — which agreed to rename the institution the Shed. | He asked the artists to put their thoughts in writing so he could send them to the board — which agreed to rename the institution the Shed. |
| Mr. Poots also made changes to the building. He wanted to add seating capacity to its theaters and, perhaps most crucially, better soundproofing. “That meant we could present Kendrick Lamar at 108 decibels without it affecting the galleries and critically, the theater,” he said. Those changes added $26 million to the building’s price tag. | Mr. Poots also made changes to the building. He wanted to add seating capacity to its theaters and, perhaps most crucially, better soundproofing. “That meant we could present Kendrick Lamar at 108 decibels without it affecting the galleries and critically, the theater,” he said. Those changes added $26 million to the building’s price tag. |
| There were construction difficulties to surmount. The architects had to reorient the building so that it faced east instead of north. The Vessel, a shiny, copper-colored stairway to nowhere by Thomas Heatherwick that has proved more popular with selfie-takers than architecture critics, was added along the Shed’s north side. Asked what she made of the Shed’s shiny next-door neighbor, Ms. Diller simply raised her eyebrows. | There were construction difficulties to surmount. The architects had to reorient the building so that it faced east instead of north. The Vessel, a shiny, copper-colored stairway to nowhere by Thomas Heatherwick that has proved more popular with selfie-takers than architecture critics, was added along the Shed’s north side. Asked what she made of the Shed’s shiny next-door neighbor, Ms. Diller simply raised her eyebrows. |
| Then a new plan called for joining the Shed, which had been envisioned as a stand-alone building, to a tower. Ms. Diller and Mr. Rockwell ended up signing on to design the tower, too, to protect their design for the Shed, they said — a move that allowed them to claim the use of the tower’s first 10 floors as back offices and storage spaces for the Shed. | Then a new plan called for joining the Shed, which had been envisioned as a stand-alone building, to a tower. Ms. Diller and Mr. Rockwell ended up signing on to design the tower, too, to protect their design for the Shed, they said — a move that allowed them to claim the use of the tower’s first 10 floors as back offices and storage spaces for the Shed. |
| The Shed has raised a total of $529 million, when a $45 million interest-free loan from Stephen M. Ross, the developer of Hudson Yards and a member of its board, is factored in. But for all its resources, it still faces challenges. | The Shed has raised a total of $529 million, when a $45 million interest-free loan from Stephen M. Ross, the developer of Hudson Yards and a member of its board, is factored in. But for all its resources, it still faces challenges. |
| Raising money for annual operating expenses is much harder than raising money for capital projects, which generate excitement and naming opportunities. The Shed will soon find itself competing not only with existing cultural institutions for philanthropic support, but also new ones, including the multidisciplinary, flexible theater (sound familiar?) being built at the World Trade Center site, the Ronald O. Perelman Center for the Performing Arts. | Raising money for annual operating expenses is much harder than raising money for capital projects, which generate excitement and naming opportunities. The Shed will soon find itself competing not only with existing cultural institutions for philanthropic support, but also new ones, including the multidisciplinary, flexible theater (sound familiar?) being built at the World Trade Center site, the Ronald O. Perelman Center for the Performing Arts. |
| Shed officials were reluctant to discuss their operating budget or business plan, but said they expect to spend around $50 million in the first year. They hope to generate rental income; the Shed has an event space on its top floor, and there has been talk of luring Fashion Week. | Shed officials were reluctant to discuss their operating budget or business plan, but said they expect to spend around $50 million in the first year. They hope to generate rental income; the Shed has an event space on its top floor, and there has been talk of luring Fashion Week. |
| Now the Shed will have to define itself, and where it fits into the city. Is it the northernmost part of the High Line, the popular elevated park Ms. Diller helped create on a set of abandoned rail tracks? Or is it a Hudson Yards amenity — another bit of bragging rights in a glossy new amalgam of office towers, condos and a luxury mall where $800 haircuts are on offer? | Now the Shed will have to define itself, and where it fits into the city. Is it the northernmost part of the High Line, the popular elevated park Ms. Diller helped create on a set of abandoned rail tracks? Or is it a Hudson Yards amenity — another bit of bragging rights in a glossy new amalgam of office towers, condos and a luxury mall where $800 haircuts are on offer? |
| The tensions are clear. The Shed is now envisioned as a place for artists to create new work — Ms. Diller recalled how when she was starting out New York was still “a place of production,” and lamented that it had become “a place for consumption” — but it sits in an area that, as much as any, has come to symbolize the soaring rents that have priced artists out of the city. | The tensions are clear. The Shed is now envisioned as a place for artists to create new work — Ms. Diller recalled how when she was starting out New York was still “a place of production,” and lamented that it had become “a place for consumption” — but it sits in an area that, as much as any, has come to symbolize the soaring rents that have priced artists out of the city. |
| Several arts leaders questioned whether the Shed’s permanent-festival approach to programming, with all new commissions, would produce enduring works — and if it would be able to compete with the tried-and-tested offerings of other presenters. | Several arts leaders questioned whether the Shed’s permanent-festival approach to programming, with all new commissions, would produce enduring works — and if it would be able to compete with the tried-and-tested offerings of other presenters. |
| But Mr. Poots, who has succeeded in the past at drawing audiences to even seemingly esoteric fare, said art needed new work, and new ideas. | But Mr. Poots, who has succeeded in the past at drawing audiences to even seemingly esoteric fare, said art needed new work, and new ideas. |
| “Let artists explore — let them fail!” he said. “We don’t want them to fail, but it’s not that they’ve messed up if they fail. In every show we do there’s things that don’t always work, but there has to be a place to experiment and invent.” | “Let artists explore — let them fail!” he said. “We don’t want them to fail, but it’s not that they’ve messed up if they fail. In every show we do there’s things that don’t always work, but there has to be a place to experiment and invent.” |
| He said that his artistic vision for the Shed — as the kind of place that welcomes the avant-garde and pop, as well as music, theater and dance, sometimes all within the same work — was all about forging a connection to the city and its diverse audiences. | He said that his artistic vision for the Shed — as the kind of place that welcomes the avant-garde and pop, as well as music, theater and dance, sometimes all within the same work — was all about forging a connection to the city and its diverse audiences. |
| “This idea that we’re making new work, commissioning across all art forms, allows for parity,” he said. “Across art forms, but also across society.” | “This idea that we’re making new work, commissioning across all art forms, allows for parity,” he said. “Across art forms, but also across society.” |
| Ms. Hopkins, the former Brooklyn Academy of Music president, noted that challenge of making that kind of connection in a development critics have likened to a gated community. “The challenge for the Shed is that even with this constant flow of money, great cultural institutions thrive best without gates — wide open to great ideas, diversity, energy and curiosity,” she said. “We have seen Lincoln Center and others spend millions to open their campuses and space for this kind of real connection between visitor and artist. Can this happen at Hudson Yards?” | Ms. Hopkins, the former Brooklyn Academy of Music president, noted that challenge of making that kind of connection in a development critics have likened to a gated community. “The challenge for the Shed is that even with this constant flow of money, great cultural institutions thrive best without gates — wide open to great ideas, diversity, energy and curiosity,” she said. “We have seen Lincoln Center and others spend millions to open their campuses and space for this kind of real connection between visitor and artist. Can this happen at Hudson Yards?” |
| The Shed is trying. It is working to reach out to the city beyond its glass-tower neighbors: offering $10 tickets to people in low-income neighborhoods, starting a program teaching flex, the Brooklyn-born, bone-bending dance, at schools and public housing community centers, and presenting works by 52 emerging artists from around the city — including It’s Showtime NYC!, the dance collective born of outlawed subway performers. | The Shed is trying. It is working to reach out to the city beyond its glass-tower neighbors: offering $10 tickets to people in low-income neighborhoods, starting a program teaching flex, the Brooklyn-born, bone-bending dance, at schools and public housing community centers, and presenting works by 52 emerging artists from around the city — including It’s Showtime NYC!, the dance collective born of outlawed subway performers. |
| And its flexible design holds out the possibility of presenting a wide variety of work, without being too hemmed in by the contours of its building. Which was the point from the beginning. | And its flexible design holds out the possibility of presenting a wide variety of work, without being too hemmed in by the contours of its building. Which was the point from the beginning. |
| “It started with a kind of response to how to make a structure that would be responsive into the future,” Ms. Diller said. “The future is unknowable: That’s the one thing that we do know. So what would artists be thinking about and doing in 20 years, 40 years? We have absolutely no clue.” | “It started with a kind of response to how to make a structure that would be responsive into the future,” Ms. Diller said. “The future is unknowable: That’s the one thing that we do know. So what would artists be thinking about and doing in 20 years, 40 years? We have absolutely no clue.” |