Historic UES Townhouse To Be Renovated As Cultural Space

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A historic townhouse across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art will soon undergo a major renovation, cementing its new status as a cultural gathering place.

The 114-year-old townhouse at 1014 Fifth Ave. is owned by the German government and was the longtime home of the Goethe-Institut New York, which occupied it for more than 50 years before departing in 2009.

Two years ago, the German government and its New York consulate rebranded the building as 1014, a "space for ideas" that has hosted exhibitions, lectures and performances.

Now, the building is set to undergo a three-year renovation by the British architect David Chipperfield, who presented his plans to the public for the first time last week as part of Open House New York.

Chipperfield's designs were inspired by the home's former status as the German ambassador's residence, featuring both public entertainment areas and private living quarters. As such, the plans feature public-facing lower floors with exhibition space and screening rooms, while the upper two "domestic" floors will host an interdisciplinary residency program.

Both halves will meet in a large central common room that serves as the project's symbolic heart, according to a news release.

"We‌ ‌didn’t‌ ‌see‌ ‌this‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌project‌ ‌where‌ ‌we‌ ‌had‌ ‌to‌ ‌land‌ ‌something‌ ‌but‌ ‌one‌ ‌where‌ ‌we‌ ‌had‌ ‌to‌ ‌find‌ ‌something,‌ ‌to‌ ‌bring‌ ‌it‌ ‌out‌ ‌of‌ ‌what’s‌ ‌already‌ ‌here," said Chipperfield, whose notable projects include museums in Germany, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

About 1,000 visitors stopped by the townhouse last week to view an exhibition about the building's past and future, which featured lectures and materials about the building's history "as well as the Upper East Side community around it," organizers said.

Chipperfield's firm, David Chipperfield Architects, will partner with New York-based KARO Architects and Paratus Group to carry out the renovation, which will start in 2023 and be completed by late 2025. Programming at 1014 will continue online and at other locations during construction.