New York’s “Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts” was built in the late 1950s and even today is still one of the largest and best-known arts centres worldwide. The complex with its twelve music and theatre institutions plus the world-famous Metropolitan Opera was fully refurbished and redeveloped between 2008 and 2009. The New York architectural practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro has expanded the renowned Juilliard School and given this seemingly introspective building a new bond with the city. On the lower storeys the old travertine stone façades to the dance, music and drama school have been replaced by uninterrupted expanse of glass. In addition, a long trussed steel structure now reaches out as far as Broadway. And below the overhanging corner space there is now a spacious, glazed foyer.

A “dance box”, suspended below the cantilever, protrudes through the corner façade. This rehearsal room for the dance students has an all-glass façade, almost 80sqm, facing the square. Passers-by can watch rehearsals from the public stand that separates the square from the street. In order to achieve maximum transparency, glass fins behind the joints stabilise the glass façade, the maximum height of which is 6.5m. The fins and insulating glass panes are connected via concealed Sefix retainers and aluminium strips laminated onto the front edge of each fin; even from the side the view of rehearsals remains totally unobstructed.