New York’s Tammany Hall Illuminates with New Facades
Reimagining the historic Neo-Georgian structure Tammany Hall in New York City’s Union Square, a team led by BKSK Architects and facades and lighting experts at Buro Happold for the building owner, Reading International (RDI), have debuted its adaptation as signature commercial office and retail spaces with a monumental, freeform dome visible from around the city.
Capped with the parametric glass dome surrounded partially by distinctive terra-cotta sunshades, the new structure suggests a turtle shell, inspired by Lenape symbolism conjured by the hall’s namesake Chief Tamanend, leader of the nation in the late 17th century. Along with its meticulously preserved 1928 facades and recreated bronze storefronts, the expansion has earned kudos from preservationists and modernists alike.