April 14, 2014

BKSK opens its doors to the public with Open House New York

Wil Rodriguez discusses curtain wall design with a visitor.
Wil Rodriguez discusses curtain wall design with a visitor.

Saturday at the office? Typically it’s not a prospect anyone would relish, but this past Saturday was no ordinary weekend at the office. BKSK was one of 15 firms that participated in openstudios, an ongoing series by Open House New York that celebrates the architecture community and the neighborhoods around the city that are major hubs of creativity and innovation. openstudios Flatiron District was a chance for the public to go inside the studios and offices of some of the city’s leading architects, designers, and engineers, in order to learn about the building industry and about what’s currently on the boards for New York’s built environment.

To showcase BKSK’s body of work, we took the idea of “body” literally. Major spaces in the office were transformed into body parts—the “stomach” was where visitors could refuel and refresh with home-spiced nuts and Harry’s special punch; the “soul” room featured BKSK’s civic, education, spiritual, community works; the “brain” offered a treasure-trove of our pioneering sustainable design research; “skin” was an opportunity to explore our latest advancements in curtain wall design across a number of projects; and lastly, the “heart” featured the work of our Interiors department.

 

“openstudios is an ongoing series that
celebrates the architecture community and
the neighborhoods around the city that are
major hubs of creativity and innovation.”

 

Upwards of 200 architecture enthusiasts wandered into our office to shake our hands and ask questions. It was, for some, a connecting of dots: “I love walking past 25 Bond Street! I didn’t know BKSK designed that!” For many others, it was an opportunity to glimpse our latest design thinking. And for us, it was an enriching and eye-opening opportunity to engage with new faces about architecture.

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A wide range of visitors, of varying ages and interests, engaged with our team during openstudios.
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The “brain” showcased our latest sustainable research.
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Tours introduced visitors to our workstations and opened up conversation.