Comprising of 12 Resident Organizations including the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet and the Julliard School, the center required new spaces and changes to better meet the needs of building occupants and patrons. 

For these projects, Arup provided structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire engineering services to realize advancements to the the Julliard school, the Alice Tully Hall, and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ central mechanical plant. 

The Lincoln Center is a dynamic economic engine for the region, hosting millions of visitors annually. Since the center first opened its doors, it has been a major contributor to New York City’s cultural and intellectual life with an internationally recognized dedication to artistic excellence. This once-in-a-generation opportunity to renovate one of NYC’s premier art institutions ensured that the Lincoln Center continues to thrive with state-of-the-art performance and arts education spaces for generations to come. 

Enhancing performance education spaces without stopping day-to-day activities 

The glass addition on the eastern side of the building containing both the Julliard School and the Alice Tully Hall opened the pre-existing space to the larger neighbourhood. This expansion, featuring a customized translucent glass wall, made room for a lobby, café, and new public plaza which engages pedestrians with seating and an outdoor amphitheater. A new black box theatre, orchestra rehearsal studio, library expansion, archive for rare music manuscripts plus many smaller studios, rehearsal rooms, jazz studios and a new large dance rehearsal room improve the student experience as well as enabling access to enhanced rehearsal rooms. 

One of the main goals for Alice Tully Hall was to reduce the noise from the adjacent subway and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. A cost efficient partial-box-in-box construction in combination with rail isolation on subway lines isolated the hall from the vibrations of the 7th Avenue Subway. New HVAC systems further lowered the background noise imposed onto the space and strive to optimize energy consumption. In addition, a new high-performance inner liner was engineered to distribute sound evenly throughout the house. Thin layers of Moabe veneer, laminated to three-dimensionally curved resin panels, were tailored around all existing hall features, eliminating the visual noise that distracts the audience from the performance.  

To complete the projects in both buildings, the design team had to coordinate construction plans with ongoing operations. At Alice Tully Hall, one season went dark to accommodate construction. Meeting the logistical challenges of sequencing this work required our experts to organize multiple packages of documents. Many elements of the building and its systems were designed and built using 3D modelling technologies. Complex structural elements, duct runs, curtain walls and wall panels were built on this basis. When necessary, temporary spaces were created to replace functions impacted by construction. Construction managers, design team and owner’s project managers exercised a high level of oversight during construction to minimize conflicts and mitigate unforeseen field conditions. 

A building with a glass front.

Arup provided structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire engineering services to realize advancements to the the Julliard school, the Alice Tully Hall, and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ central mechanical plant.

A large staircase with a wood floor.

Thin layers of Moabe veneer, laminated to three-dimensionally curved resin panels, were tailored around all existing hall features, eliminating the visual noise that distracts the audience from the performance. 

A large indoor courtyard with a fountain.

Our experts created operational flexibilities and decreased equipment inefficiencies to conserve energy use while reducing costs.

Rejuvenating key cooling systems  

Prior to the start of the expansion, Arup led the renovation of the Lincoln Center’s central mechanical plant as the prime consultant. Up to that point, the plant had not been renovated in 50 years. The work included refurbishing four 1,600-ton turbine chillers and three new electric chillers with 3,600-ton total capacity, adding new cooling towers on the Metropolitan Opera House, implementing new primary and secondary pumps, as well as increasing capacity to deliver 10,000 tons of cooling to the campus’ constituents. Our experts created operational flexibilities and decreased equipment inefficiencies to conserve energy use while reducing costs.