The new gallery and museum space at 38 St. Mark’s Place in the East Village is the first permanent home for the Swiss Institute, an independent non-profit contemporary art institution dedicated to promoting forward-thinking and experimental art making through innovative exhibitions and programs.

The project entailed converting the 2-story structure, originally a commercial building occupied by a bank, to a gallery and museum space for public assembly. Upgrades to the electric service to accommodate a new passenger elevator were required, as well as new fire service. Both the new fire service and existing domestic service required backflow prevention devices to be installed, entailing a reconfiguration of the existing water meter room.

The Mechanical / HVAC systems are air-cooled variable refrigerant flow (VRF) with heat recovery, which allows for simultaneous heating and cooling in different parts of the building when needed.  An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) unit was also provided, to allow the building return air to preheat or precool and dehumidify the incoming outdoor air, resulting in significant energy savings year-round.