The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center has officially been revealed and will mark the final building to be added to the World Trade Center campus. The Perelman, named for billionaire Ronald Perelman thanks to his $75 million charitable donation, comes from REX, a Brooklyn-based architecture firm that won a competition for the opportunity to design the building back in November 2015.
The building may have the appearance of a large, solid marble cube that forgoes windows and any opportunity for natural light in order to provide the dark spaces required for a performing arts center, but looks can be deceiving.
The Perelman will allow natural light to penetrate its walls as the façade will be primarily made up of book-matched marble cut so thin it is translucent. During the day natural light will flow into the interior space, and at night light can escape, causing the building to emit a warm glow. Blackout shades will be used when necessary to block any incoming light.
According to Curbed, REX has proposed to obtain the marble, which will be laminated between two pieces of insulated glass, from the same quarry that the marble for the Supreme Court building and Thomas Jefferson Memorial was taken from.
The building’s interior is all about flexibility. There will be three performance spaces and seven movable acoustic walls that allow for 11 different configurations across the building’s 90,000-sf layout. The three auditoriums will vary in size, with the ability to hold 499, 250, and 99 people.
The building is expected to cost $250 million to build, $175 million of which has already been raised. The remaining funds will be raised through private donations with no money for the project coming directly from the city or state.
2020 has been earmarked as the building’s completion date.
You can watch a video showcasing the center and its flexibility below.
Rendering courtesy of Luxigon
Rendering courtesy of Luxigon
Rendering courtesy of Luxigon
Rendering courtesy of Luxigon
Related Stories
| Oct 2, 2014
Budget busters: Report details 24 of the world's most obscenely over-budget construction projects
Montreal's Olympic Stadium and the Sydney Opera House are among the landmark projects to bust their budgets, according to a new interactive graph by Podio.
| Oct 1, 2014
10 iconic modern buildings first to receive 'Keeping it Modern' conservation grants from the Getty Foundation
Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House are among the buildings to receive grants.
| Sep 29, 2014
Snøhetta releases final plan for terraced central library in Calgary
The competition-winning New Central Library is now in the final design stages, after two years of community engagement on the part of design firms Snøhetta and DIALOG.
| Sep 25, 2014
Jean Nouvel unveils plans for National Art Museum of China
Of the design, Nouvel describes it as inspired by the simplicity of “a single brush stroke.”
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 24, 2014
Frank Gehry's first building in Latin America will host grand opening on Oct. 2
Gehry's design for the Biomuseo, or Museum of Biodiversity, draws inspiration from the site's natural and cultural surroundings, including local Panamaian tin roofs.
| Sep 23, 2014
Third phase of New York’s High Line redevelopment opens
The $35 million Phase 3, known as High Line at the Rail Yards, broke ground September 20, 2012, and officially opened to the public on September 21.
| Sep 23, 2014
Cloud-shaped skyscraper complex wins Shenzhen Bay Super City design competition
Forget the cubist, clinical, glass and concrete jungle of today's financial districts. Shenzhen's new plan features a complex of cloud-shaped skyscrapers connected to one another with sloping bridges.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
