New York-based studios GLO and Present Forms transformed a former tobacco warehouse in Hudson into a community education and arts centre.
The former industrial building in Upstate New York city, which had been converted to offices in the 1980s, was purchased in 2020 by a philanthropic couple wishing to create a hub for their new organisation.
Architecture firm GLO and design studio Present Forms collaborated to transform the structure into The Spark of Hudson, which now hosts a wide variety of event programming for local people.
The team overhauled the 10,000-square-foot (930-square-metre) structure at 502 Union, and added 1,000 extra square feet (93 square metres) on the roof to create a welcoming centre for all users.
“The result was a gut renovation of the interior and envelope that celebrated the building’s roots while introducing more light and air, and a new rooftop structure wrapped by a terrace and garden,” said GLO founder Joanie Tom.
The bones of the building were solid, so the designers exposed the steel framing, concrete floors and ductwork throughout the interiors.
However, the facades were less inviting, resulting in several new windows being punched through the brickwork and the enlargement of existing openings.
Two of the revised portals are framed by in-stepped courses created using the leftover bricks from the minor demolition.
“Making this introverted building more extroverted involved a dramatic re-structuring of its facades and thoughtful subdivision of its interior spaces,” said Tom.
“It was clear from the start that new perforations to the envelope were necessary – not just to bring in light and air, but to draw the neighborhood into the life of the building.”
On the ground floor, classrooms and a Learning Lab for lectures, group presentations and events spill out to a cafe area populated with eclectic furniture.
Plywood walls and large expanses of glass help these connected spaces to feel bright, open and inclusive.
The second floor features residential-style living spaces that include a cosy, dark-toned reading nook beside a fireplace, and a living and dining area.
The rooftop extension, known as the Solarium, offers a large open room filled with light from glass doors that fold open to a wrap-around terrace.
A narrow mezzanine accessed by a spiral staircase provides additional seating beneath a row of clerestory windows and the exposed wood ceiling.
“Our hope is that the Spark can serve as a Swiss-Army-knife building for the community – a building with enough inherent flexibility that it can become whatever the neighborhood needs it to be,” Tom said.
Hudson has seen a creative influx over the past decade, further spurred by the pandemic exodus from New York City.
Spots including The Maker hotel, Gestalt furniture store and Workstead’s studio are all indicators of the growing design scene in the historic riverfront city.
Present Forms founder Stephanie Lin has previously designed Taffy, a large-scale installation for the 2025 Coachella music festival, and Organic, a 2022 exhibition hosted at Frank Lloyd Wright’s School of Architecture in Arizona.
Both projects were longlisted for Dezeen Awards in their respective years.
The photography is by Joanie Tom.
Project credits:
Clients: Albert Wenger and Gigi (Susan) Danziger
Architectural design team: GLO (Joanie Tom), project lead and architect of record; Present Forms (Stephanie Lin), designer
Lighting design: Monica Torres Viera and Francisco Casablanca
Landscape architect: AZ Landscape Architecture (Andrew Zientek)
Structural/MEP/civil engineering: Taconic Engineering
Contractor: Lagonia Construction
