NYU DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY - Steven Holl

The interior renovation of a 1890 corner building at 5 Washington Place (close to Washington Square Park) is to be used by the NYU Department or Philosophy.

Rising from a cork raft of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Philosophy is organized around a backbone of light. Here it isn't only a metaphor of light to learning, but practical space of interaction between students and professors who can meet casually on the large landings. A new stair shaft below a new skylight joins the 6-level building vertically with a shifting porosity of light and shadow that change seasonally. The inspirations of words form Wittgenstein's text in Remarks on Color is elaborated in the "shadow of white light" phenomena. We installed prismatic film on the south-facing stairwell windows which occasionally breaks the sunlight into a prismatic rainbow. The Ground level, utilized by the entire University, contains a new curvilinear wooden auditorium on a cork floor. The upper level floors contain Faculty Offices and Seminar Rooms which are done in different shades and textures of black & white, according to the texts in Ludwig Wittgenstein's book "Remarks on Color"
Architect: Steven Holl