New York, NY
135,000 square feet
Concept Design
2019
Type: Civic
Theme: Transforming Old Buildings
Following an international competition, we were selected to design The Women’s Building, a new global hub for the women’s and girls’ rights movements. The project would transform the former Bayview Correctional Center, an abandoned women’s prison, into a place of activism and action. It would offer those working on behalf of girls and women the space, resources, and support they need to drive critical change. The project was led by the NoVo Foundation, a social justice foundation.
Rhoda Kennedy
Project and Design Lead
Arthi Krishnamoorthy
Design Lead
Renee Vanegas
Project Manager
TenBerke
Architect
Silman
Structural Engineer
Arup
MEP/FP Engineer
Scape
Landscape Architect
Thornton Tomasetti
Facade and Restoration Consultant
Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
Sustainability and Universal Design Consultant
Tillotson Design Associates
Lighting Designer
Cerami
Acoustical, Audio Visual, Information Technology and Security Consultant
Theatre Projects
Theater Consultant
Ellana
Cost Estimator
Hopkins Food Service
Food Facilities Consultant
MGMT
Graphic Consultant
Originally built in 1931 by the commercial docks on Manhattan’s west side, the Seamen’s House was a YMCA which sailors and merchant marines. It was designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, architects of the Empire State Building, in a gracious, understated American art deco style.
The building accommodated 225 single sleeping rooms and spacious common areas and amenities, providing a place for seamen to rest, gather, and socialize.
As Manhattan’s port activity decreased dramatically in the mid-20th century, the empty Seamen’s House was converted to a medium security prison for women in 1974.
This dark, discomforting period of the building’s history saw a welcoming hospitality facility transform into a site of pain and confinement.
The building stood as a women’s prison in the middle of Manhattan for nearly 40 years, when hurricane Sandy hit in 2012. The building was evacuated, and due to extensive flood damage, it was later decommissioned.
In 2015, New York State granted the NoVo Foundation the opportunity to reimagine and transform the empty prison into The Women’s Building, a physical home for the women’s rights movement.