I attended a party the other night at Pier 17, the tent-pole attraction at the reinvented South Street Seaport, now calling itself the Seaport District. The pier was taken down to the pilings before being entirely rebuilt, and it’s said to be opening, at least in part, in 2018. The party was in a raw space on the fourth floor—with spectacular views in three directions—but of equal interest, at least to me, was the journey to and from the event. Alas, I only had my phone; my camera would’ve ruined my line.

We entered from the west, where there’s a passageway with no evident door; the goal is an indoor/outdoor experience. As you can see from outside the pier, SHoP Architects has referenced irregularly stacks of shipping containers, faced in many different materials and textures.

Having passed under the glossy red escalators, I looked to the north. There’s an airy feeling without relying on one big, mall-like atrium.

We walked south to reach the up escalator. You can get a slightly better sense of the myriad shapes—including of the windows—and textures; I’m not sold on the corrugated metal, which treads close to pastiche. Note those large windows on the south side—they’ll open up in nice weather, merging the mall with the plaza.

The escalators were dramatic, at least in this light, with few people on them. The large skylight over the escalator bank should be welcome in the daylight.

The party space was too dark to take decent phone photos, but like I said, the views will be amazing. Below: Walking back out from where we started.