We’ll admit, we’ve been obsessed with salt sheds for a while. It was only a matter of time before the functional structure was given the starchitect treatment. Rising on Spring Street along the West Side highway right now is the $10 $20 million Spring Street salt shed, to house 5,000 tons of salt (imported from Chile) for those messy, winter days in New York City. The design firm, Dattner Architects, is fresh off the opening of its most recent high-profile project: the new 7 line subway station at Hudson Yards.
Two main things separate this salt shed from the 40+ others around the city. First, its location. Most salt sheds are located at the end of manufacturing/industrial waterfront areas, like in Sunset Park or Inwood, for example, or under bridges, like the one under the Manhattan Bridge. The positioning also allows the salt to seep out onto the surrounding area without too much complaint. But this leads us to the second difference: this salt shed will be the first enclosed salt shed in the city, as pointed out in The New York Times.
On Spring Street, this shed will sit below another functional piece of large-scale architecture–the ventilation towers of the Holland Tunnel.
Next, see this photographic exploration of NYC’s salt sheds. Get in touch with the author @untappedmich.
