The Juilliard School / Diller Scofidio + Renfro Architects by Iwan Baan

Nov 2009

This seems to be a very good year for Diller Scofidio + Renfro: The opening of The Highline (a project in collaboration with Field Operations), the competition for the Audio and Image Museum in Brazil, the Creative Arts Center at Brown, the Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York…

And now, thanks to architectural photographer Iwan Baan, we present you the recently completed Juilliard School, part of the major redevelopment plan for the Lincoln Center.

The details on this project are stunning, specially the stairs.

More photos after the break. You can see our previous coverage of DS+R projects here.

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

39 comments »

ballistamagazine says:

Those staircases are super sexy…looks as though DS+R spent a lot of time making places for students to mingle. The folded seating areas are quite nice as well, great project and very well documented.

# November 22, 2009 at 16:07

FilipE says:

It seems that sometimes they make too much to things that don’t need that much at all. Sometimes you can do just a simple seat, instead of that strange form we see in the last picture. We don’t need to complicate simple things to make them better looking.

# November 22, 2009 at 20:40

sebastijan says:

isn’t that the point of architecture? to complicate simple things… :-)

# November 22, 2009 at 20:49

Public eye says:

I have never thought that way. I like it! Architecture is to complicate simple things. (for the sake of aesthetic masked with sustainability, urban dynamic,whatever BIG words one could come up with.) Architecture is my hobby though.

# November 23, 2009 at 00:33

lanois says:

isnt it just a way of solving a condition of level changes with a bench and and a guardrail? whats complicated about that?

i dont know how it was built, but is precast complicated?

# November 23, 2009 at 21:12

lee says:

urm, yeh but one structure becomes; stairs, railings, and two levels of seating it is not complicated just very good design…

# January 31, 2010 at 15:58

Brennan says:

I’d agree, if I were were a boring schlub. Try to have fun before you die…

Your pal,
Brennan

# November 22, 2009 at 21:01

Waela says:

Very interesting… It’s cool how a simple twist can make ordinary things more interesting, and therefore I would guess more usable; there’s no way I could pass by those stairs and not sit on them!

# November 23, 2009 at 00:05

joe says:

i like the las pic staircase and seating. It looks like the extension of the landscape….nice project

# November 23, 2009 at 01:04

GRosario says:

great project: simple and functional!

# November 23, 2009 at 05:22

BAD says:

I’m sure these people do not do it for themselves. It’s actually a good thing that others even spend time to create interesting approaches out of very simple objects. These are not negative things, especially in a space that might seem generic. They might actually make a small difference in your day. Hats off!

# November 23, 2009 at 05:28

dimas agung kurnia says:

i like it….simple but briliant !!!

# November 23, 2009 at 14:30

teo says:

How was that staircase build? I don’t see any central beam?….

This is a beautiful interpretation – inspiring

# November 23, 2009 at 14:32

cad says:

Moar! floating stair pictures please

# November 23, 2009 at 14:53

akrok design says:

i love that stairscase! :-D

# November 23, 2009 at 16:19

Samuel Ludwig says:

I think you guys mean “especially” the stairs. Either way, I’ll have to check this project out once I’m back in New York. Iwan Baan has been kind of ho-hum lately.

# November 23, 2009 at 21:40

“…simple but briliant !!!” Come on! That stair can be everything but simple! And more… “isn’t that the point of architecture? to complicate simple things” If architecture were this, there would be no point to exist!
Do you want to complicate things? Call Morphosis! hahaha! They know how to do it!

# November 24, 2009 at 05:40

Greg says:

What’s so complicated about a stair-seating hybrid? It’s done all the time and if it generates unexpected social interactions within the space than it has done it’s job.

Well done.

# November 26, 2009 at 15:27

We don’t need to do real seatings to make people seat in a chair! Bed colours, bad design, with a table that has nothing to do with the rest. Too much for something that don’t need it!

# November 27, 2009 at 07:37

christopher says:

the thing that irks me about those stairs is that no one remembers to integrate the rail at the bottom for the visually impaired. so it’s always an add-on after the inspector comes around to get their C of O.

that is a big oops on the design IMO (and it’s not just this project–happens all the time)

super sexy stair…if you can see it.

# December 5, 2009 at 17:40

salton says: