In September, New York City will open a new performing arts center in Lower Manhattan, two decades after the master plan for Ground Zero called for a cultural component there.
At a cost of $500 million, including $130 million donated by former mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the Perelman Performing Arts Center (dubbed PAC NYC) is a 138-foot-tall cube-shaped building that glows at night. It’s covered in nearly 5,000 half-inch-thick, translucent marble tiles laminated within insulated glass. While allowing light to pass through it, this veil provides thermal, acoustic, security, air and water filtration performance.
Designed by REX, the 129,000-sf building is organized into three levels: play (top), performer (middle), and public (bottom). On the top level, three theater spaces (with 499, 250, and 99 seats) can be joined to create multiple different configurations, with the walls and floors moving to accommodate various events.
The middle level has all the support areas for artists and performances, such as the trap, dressing rooms, green room, musician room, quiet room, wig storage, and costume shop.
The bottom public level includes a lobby with information desk and coat check, and a restaurant/bar that can serve as a cabaret, a dance podium, a performance art space, or a community space for events such as voting. The restaurant/bar, used during performance intermissions, extends north to an exterior terrace.
PAC NYC’s outside staircase brings patrons and visitors from the lobby down to the street below.
REX’s design was created in collaboration with executive architect Davis Brody Bond, theater consultant Charcoalblue, and acoustician Threshold Acoustics. Rockwell Group designed the interior of the lobby and restaurant.
Related Stories
Performing Arts Centers | Aug 31, 2016
Sydney Opera House scheduled for $200 million upgrade
Acoustical improvements will be made alongside upgrades in accessibility, efficiency, and flexibility.
Performing Arts Centers | Jun 16, 2016
Synagogues in Omaha and New York get new lives after intense reconstruction
The Omaha Conservatory of Music gets a new home in a temple. A fire leads to an ambitious rebuild for a NYC synagogue.
Performing Arts Centers | May 4, 2016
Diamond Schmitt unveils designs for Buddy Holly Hall performing arts center
The spacious and versatile complex can hold operas, plays, rock concerts, and conferences.
Cultural Facilities | May 4, 2016
World’s largest cultural center planned for Dubai
The Opera District will have a 2,000-seat theater and three residential complexes.
Performing Arts Centers | Apr 22, 2016
Construction begins on RUR Architecture’s Taipei Pop Music Center’s South Site
The designers believe the center, which will have performance areas, production spaces, and a hall of fame, will be the Hollywood of Asian Pop music.
Performing Arts Centers | Apr 1, 2016
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture’s The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare to begin construction this spring at Navy Pier
Among the unique design features is a movable set of structural audience “towers” that allows for directors and designers to create a space that works best for their specific performances.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Museums | Sep 29, 2015
Designs unveiled for Warsaw Art Museum and Theatre
Emphasizing the building’s role in the public sphere, the museum will be accessible from all sides.
Performing Arts Centers | Jul 27, 2015
Vox Populi: Netherlands municipality turns to public vote to select design for new theater
UNStudio’s Theatre on the Parade received nearly three-fifths of votes cast in contest between two finalists.
Cultural Facilities | Jul 17, 2015
Rojkind Arquitectos serves up concert hall on the rocks in Mexico
The same way Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim has put Bilbao on the map, architect Michel Rojkind hopes his design will be “an urban detonator capable of inciting modernity in the area.”