The Juilliard School

THE
JUILLIARD
SCHOOL

LINCOLN
CENTER
FOR
THE
PERFORMING
ARTS

The Juilliard School at Lincoln Center had long outgrown Pietro Belluschi’s 1960’s building, widely considered one of the best examples of Brutalism in the US. The nearly 100,000 sf expansion/renovation restores some of the building’s lost architectural features while positioning this premiere music, dance, and drama conservatory for the future. Features of the renovation include an entrance lobby and box office; a black box theater; an orchestra rehearsal space and recording studio; jazz studios; a large dance rehearsal studio; a library expansion; an archive for rare music manuscripts; plus smaller studios, rehearsal rooms, classrooms, administrative offices, and lounges. Three teaching levels are expanded by 45,000 sf into the open triangular site toward Broadway. The cantilevered volume of The Juilliard School's expansion is a framing canopy for the Alice Tully Hall expansion below. The east façade organizes a system of circulation and public spaces while revealing school activities to the street. New features include a grand lobby entrance stair/hangout space in which risers morph into couches; single surface open riser steel communicating stair; a suspended dance studio opening to the street; and a travertine façade with punched three–dimensional prismatic windows.

  • View into dance rehearsal studio facing Broadway
    View into dance rehearsal studio facing Broadway
  • Main entry stair
    Main entry stair
  • Dance Studio overlooking Broadway
    Dance Studio overlooking Broadway
  • Black Box Theater
    Black Box Theater
  • Orchestral Rehearsal Room
    Orchestral Rehearsal Room
  • Jazz Rehearsal Room
  • Manuscript Reading Room
  • ‘Slow stair’
Project information
ClientThe Juilliard SchoolSize (GSF)95000
Location         New York, United States
Milestones
Commission2003Completed2009
Credits
PartnersCharles Renfro,Elizabeth Diller,and Ricardo Scofidio
Project LeadersGerard Sullivan and Robert Condon
DesignersBenjamin Gilmartin,Ben Mickus,Josh Uhl,Michael Hundsnurscher,Eric Howeler,Sebastian Guivernau,Felipe Ferrer,Krists Karklins,Shawn Mackinnon,and Anthony Saby
External credits
Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with FXCollaborativeDesign Architects
ArupStructural Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
L'Observatoire InternationalLighting
Jaffe HoldenAcoustics
Fisher Dachs AssociatesTheater Consultants
2x4Graphics
R.A. Heintges & AssociatesCurtain Wall
James R. Gainfort Consulting ArchitectsWaterproofing Consultant
Rich HauslerHardware Consultant
Shen Milsom & WilkeAV, Telecom and Data
Van Deusen & AssociatesElevator Consultant
LanganGeotechnical Consultant
Construction SpecificationsSpecifications
Jerome S. Gillman ConsultingCode Consultant
Aggleton & AssociatesSecurity Consultant
Turner Construction CompanyConstruction Manager
    Photography by Iwan Baan