The recently opened Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) stands as a cultural masterpiece with its unique marble facade enclosing its cube shape. The project is the final piece in the World Trade Center’s 2003 redevelopment plan led by former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Currently chaired by Bloomberg, this not-for-profit institution is set to bring together artists and audiences from New York City and beyond, showcasing various art forms such as music, theater, dance, opera, film, and special events.

Designed by the architecture firm, REX, in collaboration with theater consultant, Charcoalblue, and executive architect, Davis Brody Bond, this 11,985-m² (129,000-sf) facility embodies PAC NYC’s artistic mission. The structure boasts a marble facade that transforms from a monolith during the day to a warmly glowing masterpiece at night.

REX, in collaboration with facade consultant Front, used 12 mm (0.5 in.) translucent marble slabs sandwiched between glass to create the facade, with 4,896 insulated glass units (IGUs) measuring 1.5 x 0.9 m (5 x 3 ft) and weighing 133 kg (295 lbs) each. The marble veining forms a symmetrical pattern through “book matching,” casting an amber glow inside during the day and reversing it at night when internally lit.

To make the most of the challenging constrained site, REX designed PAC NYC with three primary levels, with the theater level’s performance spaces as the central focus. These three levels, arranged from bottom to top, consist of:

• Public level: Featuring a lobby designed as a hub for Lower Manhattan, complete with a lobby stage for free events, a Marcus Samuelsson restaurant, a bar, and an outdoor terrace. Rockwell Group provided the interior design for the restaurant and lobby.
• Artists’ level: Housing artist support facilities such as dressing rooms and the “trap” for mechanical lifts, primarily serving the Zuccotti Theater.
• Theater level: Offering three distinct performance spaces—the John E. Zuccotti Theater (seating up to 450 people), the Mike Nichols Theater (seating up to 250), and the Doris Duke Theater (seating up to 99). This level also includes two scene docks and a rehearsal lounge.

Polished aluminum light-emitting diode (LED) pendants light the building’s exterior and serve as house lighting for theatergoers, a result of REX and lighting design consultant Tillotson Design Associates’ collaboration.

REX and Charcoalblue collaborated to design PAC NYC’s performance spaces, which feature massive vertically sliding walls, movable seating towers, a two-level rigging system, and automation with Gala Spiralifts. The performance spaces can be used individually or in various combinations and can be reconfigured into more than ten different proportions and more than sixty stage-audience arrangements, accommodating audiences ranging from 90 to 950 seats.

The Nichols Theater boasts fully removable catwalks and a demountable audience balcony for versatile configurations, and room acoustics, created in collaboration with Threshold Acoustics, offer a boundaryless, diffuse acoustic experience.

The three theaters are isolated from each other and vibration caused by subway lines by floating independently on thick rubber pads, allowing simultaneous performances.

Rockwell Group’s interior design of the restaurant/lobby area was driven by the idea of creating a warm and welcoming arrival experience for guests, giving a hint of the experiences to come from the street level. Since the building is an elevated, monolithic form, a dynamic, glowing lobby ceiling can be seen from the street.