Westbeth is a former commercial structure converted into housing for artists. It was conceived as an integrated, self-sufficient community that would provide the residents not only with loft space in which to live and work, but also with gallery space, theatrical facilities, and film, photography, and dance studios: in short, with a total environment in which to pursue their work, from conception to performance or display.
Occupying a city block at the west edge of Greenwich Village a few blocks south of Fourteenth Street, the buildings, originally Bell Laboratories, are an aggregate of thirteen massive steel-and-concrete structures, whose utilitarian form resembles that of many other such buildings in large cities throughout the United States.
The fireproof structure, built between 1889 and 1920, raises thirteen floors and affords over 600,000 square feet of floor space with high ceilings, large windows, and thick masonry walls. The building commands views on three sides: west to the Hudson River and north and south to upper and lower Manhattan.
A narrow existing courtyard is the organizational focus for the whole complex. By removal of a roof and two floors, this courtyard was opened to the sky. Semicircular steel balconies project from the apartments to provide additional egress from the duplex units and to engage the courtyard space. The main entrance to the building is located at one end of the courtyard. This entrance controls the public access to the structure.
西贝思艺术家活动中心是一个为艺术家提供居住和创作空间的综合社区。建筑占据了格林威治村的一个街区，由十三个钢筋混凝土建筑组成，面积超过60万平方英尺。建筑物的主要入口位于内部庭院的一端。庭院是建筑物的组织焦点，通过拆掉屋顶和两层楼的方式打开，形成一个开放的空间。公寓的半圆形的钢制阳台向外延伸，提供了从复式单位额外出口，并与庭院空间相结合。建筑物的优势在于其高墙、大窗户和厚实的砖墙，提供了艺术家创作的理想环境。这个项目由著名建筑师Richard Meier设计，是一个极具历史价值的居住项目，也是纽约市的一个标志性建筑。