056 _ _MAR/APR 2019
Last year, Markus Dochantschi completed two art venues along New
York’s famed High Line: Kasmin Gallery and High Line Nine. In an
auspicious coincidence, both are situated within view of the 520 West 28th
condos by Zaha Hadid Architects, the firm at which Dochantschi worked
before opening his own office, studioMDA, in 2002. For High Line Nine,
Dochantschi decided to clad the low-slung, 929-square-metre building
in a striking yet understated facade that curves its way into the entrance.
“Because of its proximity to the High Line,” he says, “I wanted to make sure
not to do a very loud building, but I did want to use a traditional casting
method as well as state-of-the-art 3D-modelling software.” Ultimately, the
architect opted for an elegant white-bronze facade that subtly referenced
the scrapyard formerly located on the site. The casting of the facade’s metal
panels was done with 3D-printed sand moulds, allowing for each of the
panels to be unique.
For his fabricator, Dochantschi chose Polich Tallix, an upstate New York
foundry that specializes in complex work, including sculptures for Joel
Shapiro and Jeff Koons. When he approached the business to create the
panelling for High Line Nine, its owners were enthusiastic. “This is unlike
anything we’ve done before,” they told him, “so we really want to do it.”
The point of departure was a 60-by-91-centimetre slate slab that the
team found in a stone yard. They scanned the slab to capture its contours
and depth, then manipulated this image and applied it to a 3D model of
the gallery created with ZBrush, a digital sculpting tool used in the movie
industry. After figuring out the maximum size that the foundry could
cast – 142 by 229 centimetres – Polich Tallix created sand moulds and
cast 66 panels: 27 for each side of the front facade as well as 10 on the east
side and two on the west side. Because the entrance’s two identical sides
are curved, it was necessary to bend the panels in some areas. Waterjet-
cut for perfect alignment, the panels were assembled in the Polich
Tallix warehouse before being shipped to Manhattan for installation.
The dramatically veined cladding evokes both metal and stone, two
time-honoured materials that were replicated, in this case, via both new
technologies and some old-school casting know-how.
studiomda.com, polichtallix.comMetal Experts
A STUDY IN BRONZE
At studioMDA’s High Line Nine in New York, the
collaboration between an architect and his foundry
of choice yields a striking cast-bronze facade
The 66 bronze panels that
make up the facade of
New York’s High Line Nine
art gallery were waterjet-
cut for precise alignment.