Gehry Partners, LLP - New World Symphony, Miami, Florida

Features

Gehry Partners, LLP
New World Symphony
Miami, Florida

Playful, tumbling geometric forms delineate the structure of the internal spaces.

Photo: Claudia Uribe

The main entrance of New World Center is set in a soaring, 80-foot-high glass curtain wall on the east facade, providing uninterrupted views of the skylit main atrium and the dramatic, tumbling forms of the interior spaces beyond. Created using glass with no iron content, the curtain wall is utterly clear and disappears when lit from within, by the skylight during the day and by the space’s 44 programmable, multi-directional colored lights at night.

Photo: Claudia Uribe

The entrance is distinguished by a white, wave-like canopy, and opens out onto a plaza and a two-and-a-half acre public park. A 650-square-foot LED light field will be positioned at the top of the transparent wall, branding the institution and announcing its programming.

Photo: Claudia Uribe

Located to the right of the atrium is the performance hall, its structure masked on the east facade by a giant, 7,000-square-foot projection wall, adjoining the glass-fronted entrance. The projection wall will be used for outdoor presentations and will be complemented by an immersive audio system in the adjacent park. The main viewing area located in the park opposite the projection wall will accommodate up to 1,000 people, and will be surrounded by speakers designed to look like two giant, gently curving ballet barres.

The six-story high, glass-fronted atrium provides a spectacular and dynamic entry-point to the building, with its playful, tumbling geometric forms delineating the structure of the internal spaces. When viewed from outside the building at night, these large, dramatically-lit, irregular forms will take on the character of performers on a proscenium stage, turning the building itself into a performance.

Photo: Claudia Uribe

The skylit atrium incorporates the campus’ box office, a large, illuminated glass bar with an undulating, green-tinted titanium canopy, and baby-blue banquettes with plywood backing. The space features polished concrete floors and painted walls.

Photo: Claudia Uribe

The roof terrace on the sixth floor is accessible via two high-speed elevators, and features a pavilion reception space, a music library and a private suite, surrounded by an oasis-like garden.

Photo: Claudia Uribe

Photo: Tomas Loewy
North facade window detail

The iconic performance hall is a technically sophisticated, flexible and immersive space with seating for 756 people. Uniquely designed entryways lead from the atrium into the hall, with two serpentine corridors delicately narrowing and then widening to dramatically reveal the space. Visitors will enter the hall in its center, by the stage, and will be greeted by a 360-degree view of the space.

Photo: Rui Dias-Adios

Large, 360-degree curvilinear acoustic sails span the upper half of the space, and double as projection surfaces that will enhance the concert-going experience with theatrical lighting, specially commissioned videos and projected contextual information from fourteen 30,000 lumen projectors. Natural light in the performance hall is afforded via an overhead skylight and a large panoramic window located behind the stage.

An intimate space, the performance hall is designed to support everything from solo recitals to concerts by the New World Symphony’s full orchestra. To simulate the acoustical conditions of a much larger concert hall within a relatively small space, the design provides sufficient volume for the sound to develop.

Fourteen distinctive configurations of the stage and in-the-round seating allow for new performance experiences. View earlier NWS arcspace feature for details.

Built in the heart of Miami Beach, New World Center, the New World Symphony’s new campus, is an innovative facility for music education and performance with state-of-the-art technical capabilities, and an adjacent 2.5-acre public park into which the institution will extend its programming. The campus is the first purpose-built home for the New World Symphony.

Sketch courtesy Gehry Partners, LLP

Drawing courtesy Gehry partners, LLP
Site Plan

Drawing courtesy Gehry partners, LLP
First Floor Plan

Drawing courtesy Gehry partners, LLP
Fourth Floor Plan

Drawing courtesy Gehry partners, LLP
Sixth Floor Plan

Drawing courtesy Gehry partners, LLP
Roof Plan

Drawing courtesy Gehry partners, LLP
Section

Drawing courtesy Gehry partners, LLP
Axonimetric

Gehry Technologies, using Digital Project for the master 3D building information model, is responsible for BIM coordination with Gehry Partners, engineers, contractors, and others on the project team.

Image courtesy Gehry Technologies

Total building site: 100,641 square feet (gross)
Performance Hall: 29,595 square feet
(including catwalks and back-of-house area)

Opening ceremony will take place Tuesday, January 25th.

Client: New World Symphony
Architects: Gehry Partners, LLP
Design Partner: Frank Gehry
Project Designer: Craig Webb
Managing Partner: Terry Bell
Project Architect: Brad Winkeljohn
Project Manager: Kristin Ragins
Project Team:
Curtis Christensen
Dan Sokolosky,
Molly Forr
Lisa Cage
Shikha Doogar
Petar Vrcibradic
Leon Cheng
Vartan Chalikian
Armando Solano
Luciana Vidal
Rolando Mendoza
Acoustician: Nagata Acoustics Inc.
Acoustical Team:
Dr. Yasuhisa Toyota
Kayo Kimotsuki
Dan Beckmann
Robert F Mahoney & Associates
Structural Engineering: Gilsanz, Murray, Steficek, LLP
MEP-FP Engineering: Cosentini & Associates
Theater Consultant: Theatre Projects Consultants
Lighting Designer: LAM Partners, Inc.
Sound & Projection Consultants: Acoustic Dimensions, Sonitus, LLC
Landscape Architect: Raymond Jungles Associates
Civil Engineer: Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc.
Construction Manger: Hines

Gehry Partners, LLP arcspace features

January 24, 2011