New York Designs
Group Tour
Columbus Circle Station Complex Rehabilitation
Lester Burg, Jeff Dugan, Judith Kunoff, and Sara McIvor
Wednesday, May 25
12:30-2:00 p.m.
Columbus Circle Subway Station
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Join Jeff Dugan, principal at Dattner Architects (and principal in charge of the project); Lester Burg, project manager at MTA Arts for Transit; Judith Kunoff, Chief Architect at MTA New York City Transit, and Sara McIvor, historic preservationist at MTA New York City Transit for a tour of the rehabilitation of the Columbus Circle Station Complex and the installation of the Sol LeWitt public artwork.
Columbus Circle is one of the original IRT stations, dating from 1904. As one of Manhattan’s primary transit hubs, it serves more than 200,000 riders daily. The project, which was completed while the station was in operation over the last five years, preserves and restores the station’s landmark elements, provides improvements to public access and employee facilities, and showcases a major artwork in porcelain tile by the late American artist Sol LeWitt, titled “Whirls and Twirls (MTA)” and two of his compass rose designs. A new entrance at West 60th Street and Broadway makes entry to the complex more convenient and eases passenger flow, while new elevators provide handicapped accessibility to all platforms.
Jeff Dugan,Principal at Dattner Architects, led the Columbus Circle Station renovation project, and he is also involved in other transportation projects in the New York metropolitan area such as the PATH Grove Street station in Jersey City, the Second Avenue Subway, and the Number 7 Line extension. He oversaw the award-winning Myrtle-Wyckoff Station Complex Rehabilitation in Brooklyn and the Pelham Parkway Station Rehabilitation in the Bronx – both for New York City Transit. In addition to his transit work, he is the principal in charge of the New Settlement Community Campus, a public school and community center currently under construction in the Bronx.
Dattner Architects is a New York City firm founded in 1964 with a staff of 70. The firm’s portfolio includes transportation and infrastructure projects; master planning and buildings for educational and cultural institutions, public agencies, not-for-profit groups and corporate clients; historic preservation/adaptive reuse; sustainable architecture; and interior design.
Lester Burg has more than fifteen years experience in public art project management, having been involved in artist selection and overseeing fabrication and installation of public art from Hollywood, CA to New York City, where he is currently a manager at MTA Arts for Transit. He served as project manager for the fabrication and installation of the Sol LeWitt artwork at the Columbus Circle station. Prior to the MTA, Burg was City Art Coordinator for the City of West Hollywood, CA and spent many years at the LA Community Redevelopment Agency, where public art and cultural development were used as tools to rebuild neighborhoods.
MTA Arts for Transit has installed 220 permanent projects throughout the transit system with another 90 in planning.
Judith Kunoff is the Chief Architect of MTA New York City Transit. As Chief Architect, her role is to champion “design excellence of civic architecture within Transit including respect of our historic rich assets, incorporation of high performance architectural systems, and the implementation of state of the art processes aiding the goal of attaining a quintessential built environment for our passengers.”
Sara J. McIvor is a historic preservationist and has been involved with the 59th Street/Columbus Circle Station Project since December of 2009; the time at which she first joined New York City Transit. Since joining the project, Sara has assisted with on-site mock-up review, matching finishes, design change review, submissions to the State Historic Preservation Office, coordination with the FTA, and oversight for the work taking place with the landmark boundaries of the original IRT station.
Reservations are required. Due to the limited number of tickets and to facilitate fair access across our membership, reservations are limited to members only. Upper level members, including League Circle firms, are limited to two reservations. Please email anderson@archleague.org. Further program information will be given upon confirmation.
This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Images from top to bottom: Model diagramming renovation, courtesy of Dattner Architects; New York City Transit archive photo of the historic Broadway Island north stair at platform, courtesy of Dattner Architects
