530 Broadway

MOSO Studio was commissioned to produce CGI architectural renderings for the lobby renovation at 530 Broadway in Manhattan's SoHo neighbourhood, designed by Snarkitecture for building owner SHVO.

530 Broadway is a 198,000-sq-ft office and retail building comprising three originally separate cast-iron structures at the corner of Broadway and Spring Street, built between 1897 and 1902 by three different architects — Brunner & Tyron (530, 1898), Ralph S. Townsend (532, 1897), and De Lemos & Cordes (536, 1902). SHVO acquired the property in March 2020 and commissioned a comprehensive repositioning, beginning with a redesign of the 860-sq-ft ground-floor lobby. Crown Architecture served as Architect of Record; structural engineering by DeSimone Consulting Engineers; MEP by M.G. Engineering; fabrication by Wainland's Inc.

Snarkitecture — the New York-based design practice co-founded by artist Daniel Arsham — approached the lobby as a curated art environment rather than a conventional commercial entry. Ornamental surfaces within the historic interior were restored and painted white, creating a monochromatic backdrop that foregrounds the building's original cast-iron detailing. Custom oil-quenched blackened steel objects — an eroded desk, a wedged sphere, and a threshold element — appear to float within the space. The centrepiece is Curtain (2021), a site-specific installation by Daniel Arsham in which the wall surface appears to ripple and peel away. Elevator interiors are lined with custom Topographies wallpaper by Snarkitecture in collaboration with Calico. Lobby lighting is by L'Observatoire International, who also designed the facade lighting enhancing the cast-iron exterior. The building's average floorplates of 17,000–18,500 sq ft serve notable tenants including Calvin Klein, Armani Exchange, and Plaid.

The lobby was awarded the NYCxDESIGN Award 2022 in the Small Commercial Lobby category, presented by Interior Design Magazine, and received a Gold Winner award from the Architecture Press Release in 2023. Snarkitecture was an artist-in-residence in the building throughout 2022.

530 Broadway occupies the corner of Broadway and Spring Street — the heart of SoHo's Cast Iron Historic District. The neighbourhood is defined by its concentration of 19th-century cast-iron loft buildings, now home to a mix of creative offices, flagship retail, and cultural institutions. The Broadway corridor is one of the most visited streets in New York City.

MOSO Studio's photorealistic CGI renderings document the lobby's gallery-like spatial quality, the material contrast between the restored historic cast-iron fabric and the contemporary blackened steel interventions, and the integration of Daniel Arsham's Curtain installation.