In the Leftbank, the lobby is imagined to be more of a living room than anything else. It’s a place to gather, connect with a visitor, or just sit down and have a drink (we’d like to see a cafe in there). It’s adjacent to the ballroom space, but as different as can be. The space was historically used for packing and shipping, it’s garage doors on the west opening up onto Wheeler street to allow the exchange. As a result, this space was never finished out beyond the most utilitarian standard. We intend to keep it that way, but add some soft furniture and good coffee, and probably sweep the floors a bit more often.
All said and done, it will be a super dynamic space - with views into several other parts of the building, out to the west and the Broadway Bridge, and up to the sky via a new slope glazed skylight. People will move in every direction here, including across a catwalk that stretches at mid height through the space.
There will also be a few special architectural elements in here and who knows.. a mural? No se. Stay tuned if you’re interested. More importantly, if you are interested in bringing the coffee element into this place, contact Urban Works or look at the information right here. The people to talk to are Kathleen Healy and Andrew Usher.
