New York’s “Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts” was built in the late 1950s and even today is still one of the largest and best-known arts centres worldwide. The complex with its 12 music and theatre institutions plus the world-famous Metropolitan Opera has been fully refurbished and redeveloped in recent years. The New York architectural practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro has expanded the renowned Juilliard School and given this seemingly introspective building a new bond with the city. On the lower storeys the old travertine stone façades to the dance, music and drama school have been replaced by uninterrupted expanse of glass. In addition, a long trussed steel structure now reaches out as far as Broadway. And below the overhanging corner space there is now a spacious, glazed foyer.
A “dance box”, suspended below the cantilever, protrudes through the corner façade. This rehearsal room for the dance students has an all-glass façade, almost 80 m², facing the square. Passers-by can watch rehearsals from the public stand that separates the square from the street. In order to achieve maximum transparency, glass fins behind the joints stabilise the glass façade, the maximum height of which is 6.5 m. The fins and insulating glass panes are connected via concealed Sefix retainers and aluminium strips laminated onto the front edge of each fin; even from the side the view of rehearsals remains totally unobstructed.
The glass façade facing Broadway, fully glazed over three upper storeys, is also based on this design principle. However, here the complete façade is suspended; its glass fins, up to 11 m high, are supported by a transverse steel beam at the top. Only at a few points are the fins connected to the floors. A pattern of white dots lends the façade a restrained opaque character and in combination with a solar-control coating reduces the solar gains in the rooms behind the glass.
“Seeing and being seen” – since the rebuilding work the Juilliard School gives passers-by exciting glimpses of the world of the arts through what is basically an outsize display window.
Another element provided by seele as part of the conversion works was a glass wall in front of the jazz rehearsal rooms as an acoustic measure. The “floating” supports enable the wall to absorb the incident soundwaves and the cranked form prevents the superimposition of vibrations.
