‘1014 Inc’ is an independent not-for-profit organization, founded in 2017 upon the initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut. The organisation provides a space to explore global challenges and opportunities across the worlds of culture, ideas and society by hosting talks, performances and exhibitions.
‘1014 Inc’ takes its name from its address at 1014, Fifth Avenue, New York. This building is one of the few remaining belle epoque townhouses. It is located directly opposite the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 2021 Henchion Reuter Architects, supported by BKSK Architects NY, were invited to develop proposals to re-purpose this building to better facilitate its primary functions of community engagement.
This six-storey, Beaux-Arts townhouse is nestled tightly between two much larger blocks on Fifth Avenue. It faces the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the east and backs onto a courtyard to the west. Completed in 1906, the building was originally a family residence for the former U.S. ambassador to Germany and has been owned by the Federal Republic of Germany since the 1950s. The project is to transform the historic building into a home for the 1014 organisation. It will accommodate improved facilities for a residency programme, public and private events, exhibitions and meetings, to foster cross-disciplinary connections between Germany and the USA, contributing to the energy of this cultural quarter.
The townhouse will be sensitively extended, renovated and reconfigured to incorporate both a public and residential component while retaining and reinforcing its domestic qualities in both the original fabric and new-build components. The historic Fifth Avenue façade will be maintained and restored while new infill elements will create a new image for the institution facing east. A 'stepped garden' over the roof of the building will be enjoyed by the building residents as well and the taller neighbouring buildings that look down on it.
The three lower levels will house an inclusive public programme with spaces for a variety of events; exhibitions, performances, film screenings, discussions and talks. The residential component will occupy the upper three levels and will provide rooms for scholars to stay, as well as the administrative areas for 1014.
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