PS1

Architect: Andrew Berman

Photos:
© David Leventi, 2011

One of the city’s most renowned contemporary art spaces, MoMA PS1 showcases experimental artists inside a former school building and its large front courtyard. Tasked with updating the museum’s main entrance, Andrew Berman Architect designed a new steel and glass pavilion for the institution, the main element of which was a monumental set of painted steel and glass doors. Fabricated and installed by Jaroff Design, the doors’ streamlined design layers the glazing flush to the doorframe, creating a seamless surface.

These technically-challenging doors (weighing over 4,000 pounds) and the frame had to structurally support the other key addition – a concrete marquee cantilevered over the sidewalk. They also needed to fit with absolute precision being incised between the poured concrete floor and roof. Facing the entrance, the glass façade appears to be split in half; in fact, one side is a 10’x11’ swinging door that can be opened in conjunction with the adjacent openings to create a 22’ portal for parties & events, or to stage large works of art inside the space. Together, these doors also enclose a new entry space between the street and the courtyard for ticketing, book sales, and visitor information. This installation received AIA NY’s Design Award in 2012.

For the past thirty-eight plus years, Jaroff Design, under the management of founder Joseph Jaroff, has led the design, fabrication, installation and coordination of custom architectural glass and metal for the construction, architecture, interior design and art communities.

Joe received a BFA in Metalwork and Sculpture from RIT’s prestigious School for American Craft and studied Art History at Harvard University. During the time he was a student, Joe received several grants for public art projects including those from the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council for the Arts.