Rex’s translucent marble cube to host the Perelman Performing Arts Center in Manhattan

In downtown Manhattan, located next to the One World Trade Center, Rex’s Perelman Performing Arts Center appears as a cubic structure clad in translucent marble, able to respect the memorial dedicated to the buildings destroyed by the terrorist attack and at the same time be noticed at night, when it is active, as David Brody Bond, executive architect of the project, said.

The stone, in fact, is so thin that it allows light to pass through it, hiding what happens inside, letting natural light filter through during the day, and creating a lantern effect during the night. The marble slabs are inserted between glass panels, in order to help insulate the interior from the noise of the city, and vice versa.

The study also had to deal with a pre-existing foundation that included seven supporting pillars, which had already been constructed for the Frank Gehry project that was to be previously built on the site. This is how looking for the best way to position the new structure, they arrived at the spectacular cantilevered entrance, raised 21 feet from street level and marked by a black plinth.