New Robot Moves to Town; Long Island City Gets State-of-the-Art Creative Hub
WHAT: A new creative hub has just opened in Long Island City, providing a valuable resource for New York City’s architects, designers and engineers and bringing jobs to the city in an ongoing period of contraction. Eventscape, an award-winning custom fabrication firm, has officially opened the new facility which spans 20,000 square feet, including 10,000 square feet that was originally home to Barneys, the iconic retailer. The acquisition of the Barney’s fabrication facility allowed the original Barney’s fabrication team to transition over to Eventscape, bringing with them their extensive experience on collaborations with countless artists and brands. By making a large investment in the area, the Toronto-based fabricator aims to create jobs, hiring local skilled creatives including engineers, architects, designers, carpenters and metal workers, support the local community and provide a creative hub for local talent to explore, prototype and network.
WHERE: Located in Long Island City on the East River, at 5-25 46th Avenue
HIGHLIGHTS:
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The new facility will accommodate the exploration of future-focused manufacturing processes, experimentation and the development of new materials for architecture and building.
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The new creative workshop houses an advanced manufacturing wing complete with a Kuka 7-axis robot arm, a Haas milling center, a CNC router, numerous fine woodworking machines, extensive metal fabrication tooling, and a generous material library, all overlooking the impressive Manhattan skyline.
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The facility enables Eventscape to provide constant and immediate on-site assistance for local architectural projects. Its already strong portfolio in the city includes The Edge at Hudson Yards, and the VIP Gallery space at Intersect by Lexus, and key features at the Six Senses Hotel, The Eleventh Residences, One Vanderbilt, Google, and Brookfield Place.
More details in the full press release below:
Eventscape Expands its New York Footprint with New Long Island City Facility
International Firm Sees Strong Future in City Renowned for its Rich Culture
Eventscape, an award-winning custom fabrication firm, has officially opened a new facility in New York City. Proudly headquartered in Toronto, employing 150 skilled creatives including architects, designers, engineers, carpenters and metal workers, Eventscape’s projects take its team around the world. A key benefit of working on great projects in New York City over the years is that Eventscape has collaborated with numerous elite architecture firms such as BIG Architects, Gabellini Sheppard, Gensler, ShoP Architects, Wonderwall and Rockwell Group. The relationships they have cemented with clients and architects alike is the reason the international firm has left its mark on a number of esteemed installations across New York, including The Edge at Hudson Yards, a thrilling new architectural attraction, and the VIP Gallery space at Intersect by Lexus, as well as custom features at the Six Senses Hotel, The Eleventh Residences, One Vanderbilt, Google, and Brookfield Place.
In light of its growing portfolio in the region, coupled with an unparalleled market for architecture and design partnerships, the decision to expand Eventscape’s offices to New York was a natural next step. Located on the East River, at 5-25 46th Avenue, the Long Island City facility spans 20,000 square feet, including 10,000 square feet that was originally home to Barneys, the iconic retailer, for its fabrication needs. The facility houses an advanced manufacturing wing complete with a Kuka 7-axis robot arm, a Haas milling center, a CNC router, numerous fine woodworking machines, extensive metal fabrication tooling, and a generous material library, all overlooking the impressive Manhattan skyline. Eventscape intends to grow the New York facility to the same scale as its Toronto office, hiring local New York staff, strengthening relations with New York suppliers, and fostering a close connection to the vibrant community within Long Island City. By making a large investment in the area, Eventscape aims to create jobs, support the local community and provide a creative hub for architects and designers to explore, prototype and network. The fabricator sees the facility as a valuable resource for east coast creatives and has plans to open a similar hub on the west coast in the near future.
“We celebrate New York City’s vibrant art and design community and its unrivaled legacy in the visual arts, music, theater, and architectural design,” says President and Founder, Gareth Brennan. “For us, being a part of the New York City community means that not only do we have an obligation to support and absorb the culture, but also to contribute to it by offering our passion for innovation, our fabrication experience, and our facility.”
One of the major benefits of having a physical presence in New York City is that it allows Eventscape to provide constant and immediate on-site assistance for local projects. With this facility, Eventscape will be able to prototype faster and more efficiently than ever before, ensuring that progression in different stages of each project will be accelerated. The controlled environment and prefabricated elements will guarantee on-time and on-budget delivery for all east coast clients. Through the combined talents of the Eventscape team and its network of partners, along with the new advanced manufacturing facility which houses state-of-the-art parametric modeling capabilities, robotics, and progressive technologies; the team will be exploring future-focused manufacturing processes, experimentation and the development of new materials for architecture and building.
Eventscape has already completed a variety of installations from its New York facility, including the SoHo and LA flagship stores for the fashion house Marni. While the closing of Barneys was certainly a huge loss for the community, Eventscape hopes to take some of the magic and unique capabilities from the facilities’ past and infuse it with newfound passion and skilled innovation to branch out to new sectors and take the facility to new heights. The acquisition of the Barney’s fabrication facility allowed the original Barney’s fabrication team to transition over to Eventscape, bringing with them their extensive experience on collaborations with countless artists and brands over the years including Rob Pruitt, Studio Job, Ebony Patterson, Prada, and Margiela.
“If there’s anything we’ve learned this year it’s the need to continuously evolve and reinvent the way we build things,” says Brennan. “Our new New York facility will be a designer’s toy factory. Not only will it offer critical opportunities to creative professionals and local visionaries in need of work but it will push our entire team, along with our partners in architecture and design, to free themselves from the constraints of traditional building, pairing forward thinking engineering and fabrication experts with the tools and progressive manufacturing technologies that allow them to actualize their talents.”
About Eventscape
Eventscape’s mission is to “build the extraordinary” ®, redefining the boundaries of architectural fabrication and working hand-in-hand with creative partners. The 150-person company, with headquarters in Toronto and locations in Detroit, and most recently, New York, thrives on challenges and is driven by a shared passion for innovative design. Considered a global leader with over 25 years of experience in the industry, Eventscape has continually evolved, redefining skills and services offered in step with the highest caliber design and build demands of its growing client base of leading architectural and design studios across the globe. Its highly skilled team includes: architects, interior, industrial and graphic designers, engineers, metal, millwork and other specialized fabricators. They build things others can’t.
