2,000 attend grand opening of Center for Architecture.

The Center for Architecture is more than the new home for the New York Chapter of AIA. It's a hub for professionals and the place where anyone can come to find out about more about the discipline.

The center, located at 536 LaGuardia Place between Bleecker and West Third Streets, packed in people from all walks of life last week during it's opening events.

"This is an exciting and critical moment for New York and the entire design community," said George Miller, president of the New York AIA at the opening ceremony Oct. 7. "Today the Center for Architecture opens its doors and steps forward as a vital center for the exchange of ideas--a place for exhibitions and public discourse--a new intellectual forum in our city. This dialogue is much needed."

More than 2,000 people attended the six-day series of events that included, the center's inaugural exhibition and opening ceremony; a 16-hour, 80-speaker marathon showcasing current thinking in the building professions; openhousenewyork, two days of citywide tours to architecturally significant buildings usually closed to the public; Oren Safdie's theater work, Private Jokes, Public Places; workshops for students; and a celebratory benefit gala.

"It's not just about people who are professionals in the architecture field," said Rick Bell, executive director of the AIA New York Chapter. "It's about people who will do it when they grow up, or those who just appreciate architecture. Opening week was a great success. We had not just architects, but community members, developers, engineers and just citizens who wanted to be informed."

On the lower level was an inaugural exhibit, bringing together the major projects commissioned by the City Planning Department and another called "Live Work: Skyline Street" that focuses on the future of New York in 10 to 20 years, also by the Department of Planning. In the gallery room the plans for the 2012 Olympics by NYC2012 were featured.

"Bravo for a great dream that many talented people made a great reality," said Brenda Levin, of NYC 2012. "NYC 2012 is proud to be included in the exhibit."

The exhibits wrapped around the walls horizontally and displayed projects of significance from interior restoration of the City Hall Chambers to the renovation of Gibbs Mansion, a low-income housing for persons living with HIV and AIDS, as well as larger proposed projects such as the Hudson Yards, in which the City plans to redevelop an area bound by West 28th and West 43rd street and Eight Avenue and the Hudson River.

"They came to see what it is that the planners are coming up with," said Rachaele Raynoff, press secretary for the City Department of Planning. "It's just wonderful opportunity to have everyone walk in and get a sense of the scope of what is going on in New York and what is to come."

The 12,000-square-foot facility, renovated at a cost of $2.5 million, will function as gallery space, a lecture hall, public resource center, library, meeting rooms and administrative offices for the chapter and its charitable affiliate, the New York Foundation for Architecture.

Andrew Berman Architect, who designed the center was selected from a field of 80 submissions in an open, two-stage in 2000.

Berman's design converted the building that was built in the early 1900's for industrial use to an open space.

To accomplish the open type space where one can see the many levels, portions of the existing floor slab at both the street level and the floor directly below it were cut away to expose the space to natural sunlight.

"It took a tremendous amount of effort to breathe life into that space," Berman said. "One of the objectives was that passerby on the street would be visually pulled into the space."

But part of the building's charm was left including the battered brick on some of the walls to give the space defining texture, he said.

Berman, who attended many of the events, was able to see the space take on a life of its own.

He was impressed with a workshop where children from a Lower East Side elementary school took part in designing public spaces with master architects.

"During one of work shops the room was filled with children," Berman said. "It was pretty wonderful to see that the space could function as space for a workshop, a gallery as well as for meetings."

Ibex Construction, a general contractor that competed for the project with more than 40 firms worked with Berman to create the space.