SHOP

Museum of Sex, a precursor to SHoP’s design for FIT-C2, was designed for a corner lot on 5th Avenue. The narrow floor plan suggested the use of a layered organizational device, and the generative concepts of organic form, tactile expression, exposure and concealment led to thinking of this device as “skin”. This skin is made up of layered surfaces with specific functions, defining the physical and conceptual parts of the building. The innermost wall conceals building infrastructure while the exterior envelope is a play of several translucent layers of steel and glass, sometimes fusing in a readable thickness, and sometimes peeling apart to allow vertical movement, light filtration or to house displays. The public is invited to peek behind the veil, and become part of the architecture and the exhibition. The project won a 1999 P/A Award citation from Architecture Magazine and the stereo-lithography model of the proposed design was acquired by the MoMA in 2001. SHoP is not affiliated with the design of the temporary Museum of Sex that opened in September 2002.

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