The Shed is a nonprofit cultural organization that commissions, develops, and presents original works of art across disciplines for all audiences. Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS + R) in collaboration with Rockwell Group designed an innovative 200,000 ft2 structure, named The Shed, that can physically transform to support artists’ most ambitious ideas (Figure 1). The building’s telescoping outer shell extends from the base building. It glides along rails onto the adjoining plaza to double The Shed’s footprint creating additional space for large-scale performances, installations, and events. The Shed’s 120-feet-tall movable shell is made of an exposed steel diagrid frame, clad in translucent pneumatic cushions of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), and a kinetic system is inspired by the industrial past of the High Line and West Side Railyard. Based on gantry cranes commonly found in shipping ports and railway systems, the kinetic system comprises a sled drive on top of the base building and six bogie wheels guided along a pair of 273-feet-long rails.
