Municipal Building ca. 1976

The vaulting over the South Concourse of New York’s Municipal Building epitomizes the spatial genius of Guastavino Jr. This irregularly shaped area, punctuated by numerous columns supporting the 580-foot skyscraper above, presented him with particular challenges. Guastavino Jr. designed a deceptively simple and graceful array of vaults—no two of them alike—springing from asymmetrical structural bays. The open-air concourse provides access to the Chambers Street Subway Station below.