Located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, with splendid views overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades, Wave Hill is a New York City cultural institution offering educational programs in the arts and sciences and known internationally for its innovative public gardens. The renovation repurposed the existing historic but fire-damaged garage located between the garden’s two historic mansions (the 1843 Wave Hill House and the 1927 Glyndor House) as the new Perkins Visitor Center. A new entry pergola and a new slate hipped roof with a copper-clad skylight and timber trusses create a welcoming garden interpretation center with a gift shop and accessible visitor amenities that the historic houses could not accommodate. A banal 1930s wing has been replaced with a new board-and-batten-clad workspace for the horticultural staff that wraps around a service yard, shielding equipment from visitors’ view and seamlessly integrating the building into the surrounding gardens.
Gary Brewer, Project Partner and Designer
Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Photographer: Peter Aaron, Francis Dzikowski, OTTO