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Acclaimed Architectural Firm REX To Design The Performing Arts Center At The World Trade Center
United States Architecture News - Nov 20, 2015 - 19:14 4461 views
image © DBOX
PACWTC Chairman John Zuccotti and President/Director Maggie Boepple today announced the selection of the Brooklyn-based firm REX as the lead architect for The Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center. Scheduled to open in 2019, PACWTC will serve as a major new addition to New York’s cultural landscape, producing and premiering works of theater, dance, music, musical theater, opera, and film, as well as productions that cross multiple disciplines. The roughly 80,000 square-foot building, which will incorporate leading edge technology, will also serve as a home for the Tribeca Film Festival during its annual run. Project Team Includes Davis Brody Bond as Executive Architect, Charcoalblue as Theater Consultant, and DBI Projects as Construction Manager.
The selection of REX follows last week’s re-affirmation of support for the PACWTC by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), which released the first $10 million of the $99 million that the LMDC has pledged to the project. The balance of the project cost – which will be determined once the design process is complete – will be funded through private sources.
"The selection of REX and the LMDC’s renewed commitment are critical milestones in our collective effort to create a vibrant new cultural and community anchor for all of Lower Manhattan,” said Zuccotti. “We are now two important steps closer to completing the World Trade Center and fully realizing our vision of Lower Manhattan as the world’s most dynamic, 24/7 urban community.”
Joshua Prince-Ramus is the founding principal and president of REX. image © Matthias Vriens- McGrath
REX, led by Joshua Prince-Ramus, was selected after a rigorous invitational process that focused on architectural firms that have gained distinction through their celebrated work on performing arts houses. The three finalists were: Henning Larsen (Denmark), UNStudio (The Netherlands), and REX (United States). REX’s internationally praised work includes the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas, the Vakko Fashion Center in Istanbul, and the Seattle Central Library, for which Prince-Ramus was partner-in-charge when he was the founding principal of OMA New York.
Noted Boepple, “Throughout the architectural selection process, REX presented us with an inspired vision. Joshua totally blew us away with his innovative ideas about how to present cutting-edge culture, but also about how to make the PAC relate to everyone who comes to the WTC site – workers, residents, and visitors. The team we have assembled – REX, Davis Brody Bond, Charcoalblue, and DBI – are all leaders in their fields, and we know that we are in good hands. New York City will soon have a brilliant cultural facility in the heart of Downtown Manhattan.”
“We are honored to design such a meaningful project on a site imbued with deep significance for the people of New York,” said Prince-Ramus. “I am confident that our collaboration with PAC's exceptional team will help create a building that embodies and inspires the many dimensions of creative expression.”
“Today is a great day for Downtown as the PAC has chosen an experienced design team to create a marvelous international center for the arts and our community,” said Catherine McVay Hughes, Chair, Manhattan Community Board 1.
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