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Model for The New York Times printing facility and the Bronx Community Paper Company recycling plant. (courtesy Polshek and Partners Architects) |
| "It's a new point in labor relations. We are trying to create
a more open working enviroment.," says David Thurm, of the New
York Times. by Nina Rappaport Just when industry has supposedly abandoned New York City and other urban centers, two factories--the New York Times printing plant, completed in January 1997, and the Bronx Community Paper Company recycling plant, still in the planning stages--offer examples of how new technologies can be combined with innovative architecture to improve working conditions. Designed by architects Polshek and Partners and Parsons Main Inc., the Times' 515,000-square-foot complex in Queens, above--one of the largest industrial buildings constructed in New York since World War II--replaces the paper's outdated press facilities, which were located in the basement of its 43rd Street headquarters. David Thurm, the newspaper's vice president for production, explains why architecture suddenly matters so much to the Times: "It is a new point in labor relations. We are trying to create a more open working environment with a building that reflects that spirit." The 40-member design and construction team began the project with a workshop in which they constructed model toy cities as an exercise in team-building. That teamwork yielded a playful composition in which various parts of the complex--including the massive main press hall, a 56,700-square-foot corrugated metal box--were differentiated using color and form. A 600-foot-long window reveals one of the continuously operating presses, and a yellow metal gatehouse, a plaza paved with a crossword puzzle, a red canopy, yellow filter boxes, and a blue metal wall on the north end of the building enliven the plant. In the automated storage facility, robots deliver rolls of paper to computerized presses. After printing, the papers travel up one level, via conveyors, to a 50,000-square-foot collating storage room, and then back down to a 122,000-square-foot mail room, where high-speed machines sort the inserts that go into the newspaper. In choosing a site for its new facility, the Times had originally considered the location now proposed for the Bronx Community Paper Company, a 26-acre piece of the Harlem River Rail Yard in the South Bronx. Slated to be one of the first paper recycling plants in the city, it is an unusual joint venture initiated in 1992 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (a not-for-profit environmental advocacy organization) and the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association (a community developer). Architect Maya Lin worked with the Harris Group (plant engineers), HLW International (project architects), and Morse Diesel International (construction manager) on the $370 million, 500,000-square-foot facility, below, which will recycle 300,000 tons of wastepaper a year. Lin created three elements that animate the plant's basic corrugated aluminum shells: a water wall, which holds the water to process wastepaper; a 200-foot steam tower stenciled with clouds, which houses the natural gas boilers; and a text wall, where information about the plant will be displayed for the public. She also inserted a series of skylights and clerestory windows to increase natural light in the employees' workspaces, as well as to emphasize significant aspects of the recycling process. The developers have yet to find a company to run the plant, but if all goes well, construction will begin by the end of the year. Built or unbuilt, however, both factories bring hope back to New York--not only for industry but also for the role of design in industry. |
Keywords:
print, New York Times, Maya Lin, Ploshek
