Sláinte! The New Irish Arts Center Tops Out

SLÁINTE!
THE NEW IRISH ARTS CENTER TOPS OUT

HOSTED BY THE IRISH ARTS CENTER • JULY 2019

Julia Doern, Newt Kershner, Bennie Johnson, Joseph Arndt, Brent Klokis — DBB’s Irish Arts center design team — recently attended a ceremony to celebrate the placement of the final beam atop the new structure of the new Irish Arts Center (IAC), just eight months after demolition of the original building. Steelworkers slotted the last piece of steel into place to applause from the expectant crowd.

Over a decade in the making, the new cultural facility at 726 Eleventh Avenue began construction on October 11, 2018. When completed, it will house a new, state-of-the-art, flexible theatre for multidisciplinary performance, installations, residencies and special events; a ground floor café and visual arts display space; studio and library classrooms to support education and artistic development; a multi-floor atrium; four dressing rooms and back-of-house facilities; production and operations offices; an excavated basement and roof for mechanical and electrical systems and storage; and technological capability to support an expanded digital platform.

The topping off milestone was “a beautiful moment in the already important history of this New York home of Irish culture.” The event was captured in the video above, as IAC Executive Director Aidan Connolly paid tribute to the construction workers who have kept the project on track and on budget throughout the first eight months in the demolition, excavation and foundations phase. The new structure was in time for a follow-up visit from Irish Minister of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan who attended a site dedication alongside Consul General Ciaran Madden. (Read more here.)