Guiding Architects, tour: SoHo, NoHo and the Lower East Side: Transformed by the Arts (Fig. 1)

Guiding Architects, tour: SoHo, NoHo and the Lower East Side: Transformed by the Arts (Fig. 2)

Guiding Architects, tour: SoHo, NoHo and the Lower East Side: Transformed by the Arts (Fig. 3)

Guiding Architects, tour: SoHo, NoHo and the Lower East Side: Transformed by the Arts (Fig. 4)

Guiding Architects, tour: SoHo, NoHo and the Lower East Side: Transformed by the Arts (Fig. 5)

Guiding Architects, tour: SoHo, NoHo and the Lower East Side: Transformed by the Arts (Fig. 6)

Tour in New York:
SoHo, NoHo and the Lower East Side: Transformed by the Arts

The tour introduces the cast-iron district of SoHo, one of New York’s most distinctive streetscapes, defined by 19th-century iron-fronted buildings originally built for the textile industry.
When manufacturing declined in the mid-20th century, artists moved into the expansive lofts, drawing attention to the area’s architectural value and paving the way for landmark protection and restoration. Galleries and non-profit art spaces followed, including two large-scale installations by Walter De Maria that remain on view.
Along the route, restored façades now frame contemporary flagship stores, while new residential buildings by Herzog & de Meuron, DDG and Jean Nouvel reinterpret historic cast-iron designs in SoHo and neighboring NoHo.
The tour ends at the Bowery, where the New Museum by SANAA / OMA initiated a more recent cultural transformation of a formerly neglected area. This half-day tour can be paired with our Lower Manhattan program or extended to the West Village for a full-day experience.