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Weiss/Manfredi, Hood Design Studio, and Moody Nolan to design new Amsterdam Avenue enhancements at Lincoln Center

2024-03-04T16:32:00-05:00

The new Amsterdam Avenue face of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will be designed by a team that includes Weiss/Manfredi, Hood Design Studio, and Moody Nolan, the beloved New York City cultural institution announced Monday.

The revitalization plan entails first a radical overhaul of Damrosch Park, which will be transformed into a dynamic new outdoor area for artistic performance and public gatherings. All three firms will impart their extensive experience in public realm designs that has recently included work on the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina and master plan of the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles, respectively.

East side of Amsterdam Avenue, north of 62nd Street. Photo by Lawrence Sumulong

The design will take shape in response to a participatory planning process that drew the opinions of over 3,400 New Yorkers and surviving former residents of San Juan Hill, the neighborhood that was demolished to make way for the 14-y...

Two years ahead of schedule, Diamond Schmitt/TWBTA's David Geffen Hall revamp is ready to debut at Lincoln Center

2022-09-27T18:23:00-04:00

A revamp inside one of America’s most important cultural venues is ready to debut two years ahead of schedule (and reportedly on budget) after the project team behind Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in Manhattan announced an October 8th public opening date on Tuesday.

NYC's redesigned new "cultural living room" is the product of a collaboration between cultural sector heavyweights Diamond Schmitt Architects and Tod Williams Billie Tsien (TWBTA), noted acoustician Paul Scarbrough of Akustiks, and theater design specialist Joshua Dachs of Fisher Dachs Associates.

The project's scope includes an acoustical and seating arrangement overhaul of the New York Philharmonic's main Wu Tsai Theater performance space, the creation of a new restaurant and 1,680-square-foot Welcome Center, new multipurpose Sidewalk Studios, and the reconfiguration of public spaces around the building that was originally designed by Max Abramovitz in 1962.

Video courtesy of Lincoln Center for the Performing A...

Illinois grants $26 million to performing arts revitalization project in Chicago led by actor Harry Lennix

2022-05-02T17:53:00-04:00

Harry Lennix’s Lillian Marcie Center for the Performing Arts, a project located at 4343 S. Cottage Grove Ave. on Chicago’s South Side and designed to aid in the renaissance of Bronzeville, will receive capital funding from the State of Illinois to the tune of $26 million, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday.

The Chicago-born actor describes the project as “the Black version of the Lincoln Center.” It will house a 350-seat multi-level auditorium, flexible performance stage, a second smaller 100-seat theater, and related areas, such as rehearsal spaces, dressing rooms, offices, and outdoor gathering spaces. The building also features a museum dedicated to Black contributions to the performing arts. The center will occupy a former warehouse, and once revitalized, will be the home of the Congo Square Theatre Company. Chicago-based firm Nia Architects is carrying out the design.

Lennix hopes the project will draw tourists to the historic Bronzeville neighborhood. The new facility is expected to cost approximately $80 million and is scheduled for completion in the summer or fall of 2024.

Renderings reveal a new design for David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center

2021-04-12T19:30:00-04:00

The newly released renderings show an innovative “single-room” concept for the theater with audience seating surrounding the stage, like a black box theater. Yet, despite the surround-seating, the overall capacity will be reduced by 500 (to a total of 2,200 seats). The design team includes Diamond Schmitt Architects and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, acoustic consultant Akustiks, and theater design studio Fisher Dachs Associates.

Latest plan to revamp New York's Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center is unveiled

2019-12-05T13:00:00-05:00

A project team led by Diamond Schmitt Architects and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects has been tapped to transform David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, home of the New York Philharmonic.

According to a press release, the $550 million project aims to revitalize the performance hall into a venue that "will bring everyone closer to the music" while also allowing patrons to "feel closer to one another." The scheme doubles the size of the hall's lobby, creating a new welcome center while also adding "more places to meet, work, drink, and hang out." The facilities are set to include interior visualization walls designed to receive musical projections, including concert livestreams that will be made free to the public. The proposal would also reconfigure an exterior facade that will serve as a "canvas for artists to create site-specific works to bring the building alive."

Rendering of the proposed performance hall. Image courtesy of Lincoln Center.

The proposal is the...

Hugh Hardy’s Tow Theater at Lincoln Center

2012-07-17T19:19:18-04:00

The new Claire Tow Theater, perched on top of Eero Saarinen’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, has been in operation for a few weeks now, and it’s a nimble addition to Lincoln Center with architectural benefits out of proportion to its size.