The Shed at Hudson Yards

A dynamic new cultural center, quite literally, the Shed is being developed by the city, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, and designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Elizabeth Diller in collaboration with Rockwell Group’s David Rockwell. And we bet that, even before the opening in 2019, many will head over just to ogle. Never mind the Shed’s un-glamorous name. This is truly an architectural marvel.

Adjacent to a Hudson Yards apartment tower, the base building contains art galleries and a theater. When it’s time for a big concert or dance performance, an outer shell composed of steel ribs, with a translucent polymer skin, will telescope outward— the 6-foot-wide wheels rolling along tracks to cover an outdoor plaza. The resulting enclosed space could accommodate a standing audience of up to 3,000 people. Cue the applause.