Designed by Pietro Belluschi, the Juilliard School in New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts had remained relatively untouched since its completion in 1969. In the early 2000s, a plan was conceived to make Lincoln Center—and Juilliard—more architecturally engaged with the general public and its Upper West Side neighbors.
In an effort to offer additional educational opportunities to the growing number of students, officials at the school sought to add 39,000 sf of classrooms, practice rooms, and rehearsal spaces, as well as two new performance venues. The design also called for more informal social spaces for students and greater access to daylight, as well as an upgrade of the public entrance to integrate the building—a classic example of the Brutalist movement—more fully into the landscape of the Lincoln Center campus.
Renovating on the Upper West Side
Working with a Building Team that included a design collaboration between New York-based firms FXFOWLE Architects and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, engineering firms Arup and Langan Engineering & Environment Services, and Turner Construction Co., the administration sought to preserve the iconic elements of Belluschi’s design while meeting the needs of students and creating a more public identity for the building.
Numerous stakeholders had to be consulted—this is, after all, New York—from academic department heads to Lincoln Center’s 14 other constituent organizations, as well as the New York City Department of Planning, neighborhood and community boards, and the New York State Historic Preservation Office.
Moreover, the Building Team was to undertake the project while Juilliard remained fully occupied and functional. With an institution whose very soul relied on quality acoustics for its existence, mitigating sound during construction was a primal concern for the Building Team. “The challenge in renovating the antiquated, Brutalist space was to perform surgery on part of the building while still allowing full bodily function of the other organs,” says Heidi Blau, AIA, LEED AP, a partner at FXFOWLE.
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Juilliard School Renovation and Expansion, New York City, N.Y.
Building Team
Owner/developer: The Juilliard School
Architects: FXFOWLE Architects (submitting firm) and Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Structural engineer: Arup
Civil engineer: Langan Engineering & Environment Services
GC/CM: Turner Construction Co.General Information
Size: 39,000 sf
Construction cost: Confidential at owner’s request
Construction period: 2005 to 2010
Delivery method: CM
To meet these demands, a sophisticated plan of phasing, relocation, use of temporary facilities, and incremental reoccupation was developed. Blau says she envisioned the process as one “where one facet might undergo a transformation without disrupting the integrity of the project as a whole.” The use of swing space was an important strategy. For example, an infill interior courtyard was made into a temporary classroom; later, the space was converted to a permanent orchestra rehearsal room.
Opening up to the community
For more than four decades, the Juilliard building presented a fortress-like appearance to the surrounding community, a manifestation of the Brutalist design that Blau says “reflected a cloistered approach to the arts.” The Lincoln Center campus master plan called for a more open and inviting Juilliard.
The first step was to open up Juilliard’s entryway into a three-story lobby, thereby extending a warm welcome to visitors entering from 65th Street. The glass lobby connects spaces at street level, where many public programs are offered, to the student lounge on the second level and administration offices on the third. LED information boards, computer terminals, and a coffee bar invite more opportunities for students to meet and socialize; a glass box office is easily accessible to visitors and patrons. The lobby’s new grand staircase contains specially cut sections that provide communal spaces for those in transit from one floor to another, a feature that the BD+C Reconstruction Awards jury, notably juror Martha Bell, FAIA, found “very interesting.”
The façade, with its three-story glass curtain walls along Broadway, entices neighbors and passersby to look in, while at the same time projecting the school’s energy out into the community. The glass wall brings much more natural daylight into the school’s once dark, labyrinthine interiors.
Staying true to form
All this, while still retaining Belluschi’s stone details elsewhere on the exterior elevations. “The building façade includes more than 10 different types of glass in order to meet the distinct technical requirements of strength, acoustics, and thermal performance of the exterior wall,” says Peter Pesce, AIA, a senior associate at FXFOWLE. “Matching the original stone details while employing modern construction techniques proved challenging.”
Respecting the original Brutalist design was important to the Building Team. Travertine cladding was used from the very quarry where the original was mined, providing continuity of materials. Says Blau, “The careful surgery performed on Pietro Belluschi’s building was predicated on the existence of robust bones—able to support the transformation while retaining a significant portion of the existing travertine and concrete.”
Taking on the renovation of one of New York City’s cultural treasures required not only an appreciation for the original design, but also a sensitivity to the legitimate concerns of numerous stakeholders. The renovation and expansion of the Juilliard School has transformed the revered institution into a more modern performing arts center while preserving its architectural heritage. It is for these reasons that our Reconstruction Awards jury has designated this project as a Bronze winner. +
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 12, 2024
Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens
The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.
University Buildings | Jul 11, 2024
3 considerations for designing healthy, adaptable student dining
Amanda Vigneau, IIDA, NCDIQ, LEED ID+C, Director, Shepley Bulfinch, shares three ways student dining facilities have evolved to match changes in student life.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 11, 2024
New download: BD+C's 2024 Healthcare Annual Report
Welcome to Building Design+Construction’s 2024 Healthcare Annual Report. This free 66-page special report is our first-ever “state of the state” update on the $65 billion healthcare construction sector.
Transit Facilities | Jul 10, 2024
Historic Fresno train depot to be renovated for California high speed rail station project
A long-shuttered rail station in Fresno, Calif., will be renovated to serve as the city’s high speed rail (HSR) station as part of the California High-Speed Rail Authority system, the nation’s first high speed rail project. California’s HSR system will eventually link more than 800 miles of rail, served by up to 24 stations.
Government Buildings | Jul 8, 2024
GSA adopts new accessibility guidelines for federal properties
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) adopted a new rule with new accessibility guidelines for federal buildings. The rule establishes that pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
Office Buildings | Jul 8, 2024
Office vacancy peak of 22% to 28% forecasted for 2026
The work from home trend will continue to put pressure on the office real estate market, with peak vacancy of between 22% and 28% in 2026, according to a forecast by Moody’s.
Virtual Reality | Jul 8, 2024
Can a VR-enabled AEC firm transform your project?
With the aid of virtual reality and three-dimensional visualization technologies, designers, consultants, and their clients can envision a place as though the project were in a later stage.
Green | Jul 8, 2024
Global green building alliance releases guide for $35 trillion investment to achieve net zero, meet global energy transition goals
The international alliance of UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Alliance HQE-GBC France developed the guide, Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.
Codes and Standards | Jul 8, 2024
New York State building code update would ban fossil fuels in new buildings
New York’s Building Code Council is set to include the All-Electric Buildings Act in its 2025 code update. The Act would ban natural gas and other fossil fuels in new buildings.
AEC Tech Innovation | Jul 4, 2024
Caution competes with inevitability at conference exploring artificial intelligence for design and construction
Hosted by PSMJ, AEC Innovate in Boston found an AEC industry anxiously at the threshold of change.