PAC NYC in the News
08/11/23
The Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) opened this past September, welcoming audiences from around the globe with new, original work. The flexible, multi-format venue is garnering lots of attention in the theatre and architecture communities, here are a few headlines that grabbed our attention.
photo of the inside of PAC NYC demonstrating the glowing marble exterior's warmth in the interior. Photo by Iwan Baan
Each stage is isolated from the others, ensuring that rock music could be played in one and spoken word next door without any imposition, Design Architect Josh Ramus of REX explained. He describes the building as “a mystery box.” “The idea that the more and more and more you use this building, instead of it revealing itself to you that you actually get more mystified how all this incredible array of artistic creativity and experiences can all be produced within one relatively small building,” he says.
"The theaters are equipped with sophisticated automated and manual technical systems, empowering creative teams to bring their artistic visions to life."
A New Icon Opens in Lower Manhattan, designboom magazine
Photo of the lobby stage with a few guests enjoying the red couches. Photo by Iwan Baan
At ground zero, irreverence is new and good. Perelman’s success will now depend on its public space and program of events to entice visitors to the World Trade Center. But this much is clear: Lower Manhattan could have hardly asked for a more spectacular work of public architecture.
"About the only thing that was missing from the area... was a dedicated place for culture—a glowing monument to remind us why we are alive. Anywhere else, this would sound grandiose; but here, it is sobering."
Inside the World Trade Center’s new glowing cube, Fast Company
photo of PAC NYC's lobby. Photo by Iwan Baan.
Inside, a Goldilocks-like suite of three rooms — tiny, spacious, and in between — can be deployed in various combinations or fused into one big auditorium. Walls fly away, stages lower and lift, orchestra pits open up, and mobile towers glide into position. Seating can be raked, arranged in the round, or eliminated entirely. “Fractions of an inch become important,” says Gavin Green, a founding partner of the U.K.-based theatrical consulting firm Charcoalblue. “All the components move robustly and with a high level of precision. But it’s not just a machine or a black box. The room is packed with personality and warmth. It’s a celebration of those people onstage, and it’s about trying to get a tightly focused relationship with the audience.”
More news coverage:
“PAC NYC embodies New York’s relentless spirit of rejuvenation—a beacon of hope, resilience and ambitious artistic vision realized in the highly-anticipated completion of the World Trade Center’s metamorphosis." Observer
“It will make the site not just a reminder of where our loved ones died, but why they lived.” Paula Grant Berry
“Undeniably, the PAC NYC is a beautiful box, one of the most sumptuous buildings in recent memory — in New York City and beyond.” World Architects
“The Perelman Arts Center is just magnificent.” LaChanze, Live with Kelly and Mark
"PAC NYC is housed in a building befitting a modern-day cultural keystone... Inside, PAC NYC is just as dynamic... Flanked by four vertical sliding walls that allow the space to be reconfigured while still maintaining acoustical separation, the three theatres can be adapted in more than ten different combinations, using both manual and mechanical systems." Wallpaper*
“It’s the embodiment of the New York spirit.” Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, Elle Decor
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