New Austrian Cultural Forum - New York, NY

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Location
New York City, USA
Project
1996
Completion
2002
Scope of Services
Project Architect
Structural Engineer
Ove Arup & Partners, New York
Gross Floor Area
40,000 sf
Construction Cost
US$ 26,000,000
Program
Exhibition space, administrative offices, auditorium, library, director apartment
Client and Architect
Atelier Raimund Abraham
Bibliography
"Facade Engineering Emerges as a Highly Specialized Science and Striking Art Form", in Architectural Record, August 2002

Mr. Giostra was responsible for the construction of the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City until its completion in July 2002, a building that Herbert Muschamp, architectural critic of the New York Times, celebrated as the most important piece of architecture built in New York since the Seagram Building in 1958. The ACF is also the most expensive building, per square foot, erected by a foreign government in America.

Mr.Giostra success in constructing this unique high-rise building in Manhattan has been widely recognized as a significant contribution to the glamorous architectural tradition of New York. To obtain a striking street elevation, Mr. Giostra implemented a highly-sophisticated curtain wall system for ACF, to which Architectural Record dedicated a special feature.

The building is entirely devoted to the promotion of cultural activities, and can be considered part of a new generation of cultural institutions, using a wide range of media to produce and showcase all kind of artistic representations, from paintings to interactive and digital art. As such, the programmatic requirements were unusually demanding in asking for multiple public spaces with highly sophisticated equipment, including a multimedia theater, exhibition and performing space.