Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. has revealed the design for the Amsterdam Avenue side of its campus, developed by Hood Design Studio, Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, and Moody Nolan. Recently released renderings illustrate a transformation that includes a new outdoor performance venue, expanded community park spaces, and the removal of the existing wall along Amsterdam Avenue. In response to long-standing calls from both Lincoln Center and local communities, the construction is expected to begin in spring 2026 and be completed by spring 2028.
The design balances interventions made more than a decade ago on the campus's east side, which created inviting public spaces on the north and east to support Lincoln Center's founding mission of making the arts accessible to all. The new plan also incorporates extensive input from an ongoing participatory process that began in 2023, engaging thousands of residents, community groups, students, and neighbors in shaping how the western edge of the campus is used. The proposal features a prominent new entrance, a public park with a lawn, a water feature, tree groves, and a garden, as well as a performance venue designed to enhance the experience for both artists and audiences.
The removal of the wall at Damrosch Park introduces a series of human-scale, pedestrian-friendly spaces designed to enhance circulation and create areas for community gathering and rest. Developed in collaboration with NYC Parks, the new landscape design envisions establishing a stronger connection between the park and the street, while integrating works of art and increasing accessibility to the broader campus. Referencing Lincoln Center's Modernist roots, the design maintains a central axis and formal entry points, while introducing contemporary elements that support flexibility, inclusivity, and a broader range of uses. Material choices, textures, and scales are aligned with the existing campus to ensure visual and spatial cohesion. Key features include improved sidewalks and bus waiting areas, expanded green space, new seating and lighting, enhanced entrances with gardens, and upcoming art and lighting installations within the concourse linking Amsterdam Avenue to the Broadway subway entrance.
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The reimagined park also introduces new community-focused spaces anchored by an expansive lawn and a central water feature, offering areas for relaxation, play, and informal gathering. Echoing the historic geometries of Lincoln Center, the design references forms such as the Bandshell, reinterpreted here not as a barrier, but as an open, adaptable space for community use. An open terrace and flexible performance space further support smaller-scale programming and everyday public use, reinforcing the park's role as an accessible and welcoming urban space.
Anchoring the redesigned park is a new permanent performance venue, featuring an open plaza with capacity for approximately 2,000 audience members. Designed to support both artistic excellence and community engagement, the venue is positioned to preserve the historic vista from Josie Robertson Plaza while fulfilling the original vision of a theater within a park. Surrounded by a grid of trees that echoes the site's original design, the venue integrates into the landscape while enhancing year-round usability. Its orientation, stage configuration, and technological upgrades are aimed at improving acoustics and the overall experience for both performers and audiences, while reducing sound spill beyond the performance area. The plaza's flexible layout supports performances, community events, and recreational use, while additional features, including shaded seating areas, an Artists' Bar, and a grove with tiered seating, further activate the space during both performance and non-performance seasons.
In recent news from New York, the Empire State Development (ESD) Board of Directors has approved a major office-to-residential conversion project at 5 Times Square, designed by Gensler, which aims to transform the underutilized office space into a mixed-use complex with up to 1,250 new homes, including 313 permanently affordable units, while Populous has released images of a new $80 million, player-led practice facility for the New York Liberty in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and New York-based studio TenBerke has unveiled a proposal for a mixed-use tower at 395 Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn that would replace an existing office building with more than 1,200 rental units, including 300 to 360 permanently affordable apartments.
