Glowing $243m cube will be clad in translucent marble

New York practice Rex has revealed its designs for the $243m Perelman Performing Arts Center, the latest piece of the World Trade Center redevelopment.

The 8,000sq m cube-shaped building is considered the final piece in the site’s masterplan.

It is due to open in 2020 and will host theatre, dance, film, music and opera.

Other elements include skyscrapers designed by SOM, Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners and BIG, Snohetta’s Memorial Museum and Calatrava’s transit centre.

It will be clad in translucent veined marble laminated with insulated glass. By day it will look solid from the outside, with light filtering through the façade. But at night it will appear to glow and silhouettes of the people inside will be visible to those outside.

Joshua Prince-Ramus, principle of Rex, said: “The Perelman Center is an immensely flexible canvas on which directors can script the patrons’ entire experience from their very entrance into the building.

“It is a ‘mystery box’, a constant source of surprise for theatregoers and the community.

“We are honoured to be involved with such an important project on such an important site.”

The design cues were said to have been taken from the centre’s aim to “foster artistic risk, incubate original productions, provide unparalleled flexibility and deliver the most technologically connected spaces for creative performance”.

Singer Barbra Streisland has been named as chair of the Perelman’s board.