Starrett-Lehigh
RXR Realty
Information
No items found.

The historic Starrett-Lehigh Building, located at 601 West 26th Street in Chelsea spans a full city block on Manhattan’s West Side. At 2.3 million square feet, the former rail hub and distribution center is one of the largest building footprints in New York City. Co-developed by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Starrett Corporation—whose owner William Starrett concurrently oversaw construction of the Empire State Building—the complex was designed by Yatsuo Matsui of the firm Cory & Cory. 

Nearly 100 years after it was built, Starrett-Lehigh has been reimaged as a multi-use destination for working and gathering, with a variety of corporate offices; shared workspace; amenities; public spaces; retail; and flexible areas that can be configured as needed art exhibitions, public programming, events, and more. Located in a neighborhood renowned for its hundreds of art galleries, Starrett-Lehigh is at the epicenter of a vibrant district, and home to globally recognized companies in fashion and other creative industries.

Studio Loutsis designed the comprehensive placemaking and wayfinding system for the revitalized Starrett-Lehigh campus. The landmark building has a unique architectural vernacular whose signature is bands of large, multi-paned windows—unusual for industrial buildings from this era. We created a bespoke placemaking system based on a grid, leveraging the tile-like units of the building’s trademark windows. Studio Loutsis’s close collaboration with STUDIOS Architecture ensured that the architecture, signage, and wayfinding worked together seamlessly and intuitively.

Not only did the modular system we designed reference the building’s history, but it also prioritized the need for flexibility across such a large and complex campus. The tiled system we introduced allows for information on signs and directories to be easily updated as tenants change and as the building’s functionality evolves. The system also provides an integrated hierarchy of information—macro level signage and wayfinding spans more units within the grid, while micro level has a smaller footprint of tiles.

Year
Ongoing
Sector
Corporate
Design
Services
Environments
Signage
Strategy

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

RCS

ARCHITECTS

STUDIOS Architecture

FABRICATOR, SIGNAGE

Coyle

Typography
Website
View
Paper
PRESS
Release
No items found.

Credits

Creative Direction
Taylor Loutsis
Wordmark
Greg Gazdowicz
Strategy
Ian Reagan
Copywriter
Tara Young
Graphic Design
Taylor Loutsis
Angus Plunkett
Andrew Burgess
Ryan Stewart
Web Development
Ben Jackson, Studio Jvckson
Word Production
Shoeb Lakhi
Print Production
Publicide
Typography
Neue Haas Grotesk, Display Pro, 65 Medium
Bespoke packaging system for L'Entrata featured on World Brand Design Society.
AN Interior stepped out in Brooklyn to host a small invite-only party, hosted by Studio Loutsis in its bespoke workspace in Gowanus.
Put a Ring on It a Silver Ring Seals the Deal in Studio Loutsis Identity for Common Bond 2022
BRC Imagination Arts and Studio Loutsis Share Involvement with USA Pavilion for the World Expo 2025 Osaka
Black Asteroid shares a mesmerizing new single, ‘Ashes and Dust feat. ACTORS’, and announces a sophomore album, ‘Infinite Darkness’, which will be released via Artoffact Records +Track Premiere
Wayfinding and Signage System for Brown University’s Lindemann Performing Arts Center
Trahan Architects Envisions Two-Winged USA Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka
Trahan Architects designs USA pavilion with suspended cube for Expo 2025 Osaka
Trahan Architects Unveils Design for USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka
Trahan Architects releases design for USA Pavilion at 2025 Expo Osaka
The quiet American: US reveals pavilion design for World Expo 2025
Future Projects was awarded AN's 2023 Best of Design Award in Interior - Workspace for the Studio Loutsis office.
REX creates "holy grail" combination of performance spaces in Providence.
Highlighting arts teaching, scholarship and performance.