Photo: Courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Fulton Transit Center is going to open to the public any day. The center will be an opulent dining, shopping, cultural and civic center housed in the historic and restored Corbin Building on Fulton Street where commuters and tourists will eventually be able to access 11 of the city’s 26 subway lines.
But arguably one of the most anticipated aspects of the opening is the unveiling of the oculus, a conical dome that extends 120 feet above the surface and lets light into the shops and restaurants in the oval atrium aboveground and all the way down to the subway platforms below. The skylight dome is lined with a cable net structure that holds aluminum, diamond shaped panels, explained Sandra Bloodworth, Director for MTA Art and Design. The panels are polished and perforated and allow light to reflect through in different amounts.
“It’s quite magnificent and it’s constantly changing as the sky changes, so on every different moment of the day and the season there’s a different experience,” said Bloodworth.
The project, which has been likened to Grand Central, was unique in that the art and design team had the opportunity to create an architectural and civic presence that is both above and below ground.
“When we started thinking about the project we really zoomed in on our vision for downtown,” said Bloodworth. “It was a lot to do with taking these 11 lines and creating a seamless ride for New Yorkers and visitors, and it has so much to do with the rebuilding of lower Manhattan. We wanted to have a dialogue between art, architecture and engineering and for them to be one from the very beginning, and because of that this thing of beauty has been created.”
When they did their call for artists they received over 300 portfolios from artists all over the world. Conveniently James Carpenter, the artist who was ultimately selected for the project, lives just blocks away from the Fulton Center site.
“We were not looking for an artist who would just work in a decorative way, but rather the someone who would work with the architects and engineers to create an experience that would explore how the light travels over the space. James Carpenter is a celebrated New York artist who is known for his ability to harness light.”
With so many subway lines converging in one, well-constructed station, the Fulton Center is expected to have a similar cultural and social impact on Lower Manhattan as Grand Central Station has had on midtown.
“What Grand Central was to the 20th century, Fulton Center will be to the 21st century. This is a magnificent place where you can go for dining and for shopping and it will all be under this stunning oculus and sky reflector net,” says Bloodworth. “It becomes a point of arrival and departure. In Grand Central you might meet under the clock and at the Fulton Center you might meet under the net.”
-Nicola Harrison Ruiz*
*Nicola Harrison Ruiz is DOWNTOWN Magazine’s Men’s Fashion and Lifestyle editor. She is also a men’s style consultant and founder of Harrison Style. She gets asked a lot of questions about what to wear and how to wear it, and she’s always up for the challenge. Got a style question? Don’t be shy, ask!
