News
February 18, 2010
More on the Architecture of Arts Centers
We already miss having the models of the Meyerson, Winspear, Wyly et al hanging around here at the Center…even though our exhibition just closed a couple of weeks ago. So, we’re getting our fix online checking out stories on two big arts centers in the Big Apple. Lincoln Center is getting a new theater on the rooftop of Eero Saarinen’s Vivian Beaumont Theater. And the Arts Center at Ground Zero has finally gotten the go-ahead. Oh, and there’s a way for you to celebrate our own AT&T Performing Arts Center.
When you take our walking tour of the Dallas Arts District, we discuss that the fact that it took 30 years to “finish” the Districts’ cultural buildings is not necessarily a bad thing. Otherwise, all the buildings would have been built at one time—the “Lincoln Center effect.” Almost 50 years after its construction, Lincoln Center is undergoing some pretty extensive renovation. Including a new theatre on the rooftop of the Vivian Beaumont Theater, designed by Eero Saarinen. Hugh Hardy, who worked on the original project is designing it. The New York Times has the story, including the opposition that the addition has faced.
Meanwhile, further downtown, word comes that construction on the Frank Gehry-designed arts center at Ground Zero will begin next quarter. However, thanks to the complexities of the site, he project won’t be finished for years. And some cynics don’t think it will ever be built.
Thankfully, our arts center is up and running and garnering positive press from around the world. Keep the momentum going. Go here and vote for the Wyly or the Winspear as ArchDaily’s Cultural Building of the Year.