1. Transformation of a Mid-Century Modernist Icon
From Hiring Hall to Healing Place

2. SHIP
“FormerWright Student
Designs a Battleship for
Hiring Halls”.
Ada Louise Huxtable, New York
York Times, 1964
The Building resembles a
modernist ship docked at the red
brick edge of New York’s
Greenwich Village
INSPIRATION

3. ORIGINAL PROGRAM: MARITIME HIRING HALL

4. ORIGINAL PROGRAM: MARITIME HIRING HALL

5. EXISTING CONDITIONS

6. SEA
The original design for the
Union Headquarters on the
5th floor included sea-blue-
green mosaic tile, sea green
carpet, floor mirrors and
plants as well as a block long
indoor water feature.
INSPIRATION

7. CIRCLES
“The Hiring halls are
designed to allow for no
angles….everybody is equal
here, and the circles pretty
much express that.”
Village Voice, May 1964
Circles were deeply rooted in
Albert Ledner’s form making,
symbolic of the Union’s hiring
hall’s sense of fairness, respect and
professionalism in hiring.
INSPIRATION

8. Emergency Department

9. Emergency Department
1. WALK IN 7th
AVENUE
Triage
Exam
Results waiting
Discharge
1. WALK IN 7th
AVENUE
Triage
Patient waiting
Exam
X-ray
Results waiting
Discharge
1
2
3
4
5
6

10. 2. WALK-IN 7th
AVENUE
Triage
` Exam room
Discharge from
exam
Emergency Department
1
2
3

11. 3. PEDIATRIC
Triage
Pediatric waiting
area
Exam room
Discharge
Emergency Department
1
2
3
4

12. 4. AMBULANCE
Resuscitation
CT scan
23-hour bed
Discharge
home or
transfer to
hospital
1
2
3
4
Emergency Department

13. The Materials Encounter: Emergency Waiting Areas

14. The Materials Encounter: Emergency Nurse Station & Exam Rooms

15. Cellar Level

16. The Materials Encounter: Staff and Support Areas at Cellar Level

18. INSPIRATION