New York is a city of grand, iconic spaces, and Lincoln Center is about as iconic as you can get. When it was announced, almost a decade ago, that the architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro would be doing a major renovation of the complex that includes the Revson Fountain, the Josie Robertson Plaza, the David H. Koch Box Office, Alice Tully Hall, and the Juilliard School, it was design news that made headlines across the world. A new book, Lincoln Center Inside Out: An Architectural Account, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, documents the process of transforming the space into something even more thrilling than the original. Photo: Courtesy of Damiani
In a documentary called Diller Scofidio + Renfro Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line, architect Elizabeth Diller shows renderings for various spaces to illustrate how design decisions were made. Here’s the transformed Revson Fountain. The original Philip Johnson design was replaced with a floating granite ring, while the fountain’s endless water spectacles are programmed remotely. Photo: Courtesy of Brian Stanton
The Metronome was just one of the rejected fountain studies. Photo: Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro
What would you have thought if this study, “white noise bar,” had been the winning fountain design? Photo: Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro
A contemporary view of Hearst Plaza seen from the Juilliard School. The reimagining of this space, which includes the bosque of London plane trees, reconfigured reflecting pool, and the Hypar Pavilion, is ingenious. Photo: Iwan Baan
The original Milstein Plaza that bridged 65th Street was an ominous sight; its clunky structure cast an uninviting shadow. The new President’s Bridge is light and airy and doesn’t steal light from the street. The book is filled with sumptuous images. It’s just as much of a treasure as Lincoln Center itself. Photo: Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro
