Morris Adjmi Architects

Spring Studios

120,000 square feet
4 stories
New York, New York
2014

This modern, flexible event facility for the London-based production company Spring Studios occupies the upper four floors of a former call center in Tribeca. Against a backdrop of downtown Manhattan, the versatile space hosts fashion shows, art exhibitions, pop-up restaurants, and the Tribeca Film Fest. It also provides the specialized infrastructure necessary for photography, film, and television production.

Spring Studios, a collaboration between MA and Aldo Andreoli, was designed specifically to accommodate a varied program. Entire floors of the existing building were removed, and new structural components were discreetly added to create large, open studios and the necessary support spaces. The most visible change is the introduction of a three-story curtain wall to the masonry façade, which was further refreshed with dark gray paint to give the dull and dated 1960s building an unmistakably contemporary appearance.

The seven studios, which can be combined using an operable wall divider, range from intimate spaces designed to for small photo shoots to a grand sixth-floor space suitable for large productions or events. Flexible lighting, electrical, and sound systems were unobtrusively integrated into the design: they are easily accessible but out of sight. All the studios share simple white walls and an understated versatility evocative of a modern art museum or contemporary “white box” gallery.

Spring Studios’ carefully designed spaces can accommodate almost any function. Through a combination of painstaking but almost invisible design features and bolder moves—opening up the façade and carving away interior floors—this former Tribeca office building has become one of the most sought-after state-of-the-art production, event, and exhibition venues in New York City.

The top three floors of Spring Studios were dramatically reconfigured to yield a production facility that features double-height studios with separate editing and greenroom spaces, a penthouse, and a roof terrace. The ground-floor lobby was also renovated.

The sixth floor offers 10,000 square feet of “white box” production or event space with a 30-foot-high ceiling, concrete flooring, and a west-facing glass wall. The low-iron glass admits only the pure, unfiltered daylight ideal for photography and video production.

Plan, floor 6. Versatile, west-facing production space can be divided with a flexible wall system. The opposite side of the floor provides amenity space for Spring Studios’ other ventures. A custom-fabricated steel stair rises from the sixth floor to the roof.

Plan, roof. The terrace furnishes 2,500 square feet of outdoor shooting space. Views of Tribeca and downtown Manhattan are attractive backdrops.