Rem Kolhaas Protégé Replaces Gehry in WTC Performing Arts Center Commission

Last Friday, Brooklyn-based architecture firm REX has been named as the designer for the World Trade Center Performing Arts Center, according to The Wall Street Journal. The design group, led by Joshua Prince-Ramus, a protégé of Rem Kolhaas and former head of OMA New York, beat UNStudio and Henning Larsen Architects for the said commission.

In an interview with the New York Times, Prince-Ramus was quoted saying, “We wanted to create something that is simple, elegant and timeless.” Prince-Ramus added that they have stripped down the details up to what is only needed.

The project, called The Performing Arts Center of the World Trade Center (PAC), was originally commissioned to renowned architect Frank Gehry. However, changes had to be made from Gehry’s proposed 80,000-square foot cultural center which was estimated to cost $400 million. In 2014, Gehry officially dropped the project.

In July, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) insisted lowering the project cost to half of what Gehry has originally proposed. With only $200 million budget, Prince-Ramus took this as a challenge, saying, “It’s a chance to purge things that didn’t work and you now know how to fix them and to have the opportunity to rethink.”
Half of the budget will come from federal funding. Last week, LMDC has already released the first $10 million of the $99 million budget. The remaining balance is expected to come from private funding. Although the corporation, which oversees the former WTC site, already has its set budget, funding for the said project can still grow depending on how much additional money can be raised.

The design for multi-cultural arts center will be officially unveiled in the spring of 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2019. Aside from producing works in theater, film, music, dance and opera, it will also become the venue for the yearly Tribeca Film Festival.

John Zuccotti, chairman of PAC at the WTC said that the announcement of REX as the official designer of PAC and LMDC’s renewed commitment are critical in hitting a milestone for their future plans for the WTC site. “A performing arts center was always part of the overall master plan for the rebuilt World Trade Center.” Zuccotti told NYTimes. He added, “We can now move with vigor.”