Old Slip

Financial District, Manhattan

Designed by Hunt & Hunt in the Renaissance Revival style, 100 Old Slip is a stately, 25,000-square-foot, limestone block building in New York’s Financial District. In 1977, it was designated a landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and served as its headquarters from 1993 until 2001. Due to its location in a highly vulnerable area of the flood zone, the five-story, freestanding building was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. While the exterior stone withstood the storm’s wave action with minimal damage, interior interventions made in the late 20th century were destroyed by flooding. The NYC Department of Design and Construction’s (DDC) Design Excellence Program commissioned Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects to preserve, rehabilitate and wet floodproof the structure, and develop an inclusionary design that attained LEED Silver certification.

 

  • The project encompassed a complete overhaul, transformation and restoration. To respect the original architecture and 100 Old Slip’s history, we relocated the main vertical circulation and restored the landmark’s original A/B/A/B/A rhythm. The new, open staircase improves the circulation flow and facilitates public access through the floors. We rebuilt and restored the grand muster room, which was destroyed in the 1970s when a scissor stair and elevator were installed through the center, and we transformed the carriage drive that runs through the edifice into an engaging, new, public entry-cum-art gallery, exhibiting artwork through the City Department of Cultural Affairs’ (DCLA) Percent for Art program. The inviting entrance is graded and meets equitable entry guidelines. On the exterior, we restored the pillowed limestone, added flood vents, and reconstructed the flagpole. New transparent security gates visually connect the entry, replacing circa-1970s wooden doors that closed off the interior drive. Other improvements including reconstructing the windows and repairing and restoring the terracotta tile roof.

    For floodproofing, two sublevels were infilled, and the structure was reinforced with mechanicals moved to the second level. Because of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) restrictions, the ground floor may only be used for exhibitions.  Along with the DDC, LPC, FEMA and DCLA, the project required the participation of the NY State Historic Preservation League and  NYC Department of Transportation.