ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

Design Director: Jose Luis Perez-Griffo

New York City
The HALL
design architect: Gloria Vega Studio architect of record: VIQ Architecture

Occupying approximately 15,000 square feet across two levels, The Hall reimagines the Grand Banking Hall of the Former New York Life Insurance Building — a designated New York City Landmark Interior — as a vast, contemporary field for art. Once a temple of finance, the monumental space now stands as a flagship for Jack Shainman Gallery and a key reference within Tribeca’s expanding art district. The project honors the building’s architectural heritage, originally conceived by McKim, Mead & White, while embracing the fluidity and experimental nature of contemporary artistic practice.



Installation view, Nick Cave, Amalgams and Graphts, 2025
Jack Shainman Gallery, 46 Lafayette Street, New York, NY
© Nick Cave. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Photo: Dan Bradica Studio.


After a rigorous Landmarks Preservation Commission approval process, the intervention achieves a rare equilibrium between restoration and innovation. The hall is understood as a void — a pure spatial volume where light, scale, and proportion take precedence. Conceived as an Art and Architecture Laboratory, it invites a continuous dialogue between the two disciplines. Subtle yet highly technical insertions — concealed structural anchors within the coffered ceiling and marble floor — allow the space to host immersive installations without compromising its historic integrity. Integrated mechanical, electrical, and lighting systems operate invisibly, supporting the dynamic needs of future exhibitions. The result is a space of quiet audacity: a landmark reborn as a site for transformation, where history becomes the framework for perpetual reinvention.


Installation view, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, 2025
Jack Shainman Gallery, 46 Lafayette Street, New York, NY
© Toyin Ojih Odutola. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: Dan Bradica Studio.




Installation view, Hank Willis Thomas, I AM MANY, 2025
Jack Shainman Gallery, 46 Lafayette Street, New York, NY
© Hank Willis Thomas. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: Dan Bradica Studio

