David Geffen Hall Opens Two Years Ahead of Schedule

With a construction schedule that was accelerated during the pandemic, David Geffen Hall is opening a full two years before initially scheduled and on budget—the result of a close collaboration between Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic, and building trades and supporters across the city.

The project supports $600 million in ongoing economic development and 6,000 jobs for New Yorkers. The team secured 42% participation from minority- and women-owned businesses during the course of construction; 52% of the workforce derived from underrepresented communities. Local Ironworkers 580 contributed to several important aspects of the hall, including its lobby and an immense system of steel grids to support movable acoustical panels and other acoustical elements throughout the theater and orchestra spaces. Pulleys and motors also installed by the ironworkers enable minute adjustment of these elements to tune the hall for specific performances. As thanks for their work, tradespeople who participated in the project have been invited to the hall’s opening on October 8, 2022.

David Geffen Hall is a statement of faith in our city across a massive team of people who believed in the enduring power of New York’s cultural landscape, even in moments when the city’s future was unclear.

About the Reimagination of David Geffen Hall

The new David Geffen Hall will improve the entire concert-going experience,creating the state-of-the-art Wu Tsai Theater to serve as the home of the New York Philharmonic and accommodating anticipated artists and audiences of the future. The project will bring online tens of thousands of square feet of new public space for diverse cultural uses, including performance and community. The David Geffen Hall design team includes Diamond Schmitt Architects, led by Gary McCluskie, on the Wu Tsai Theater; Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects│Partners, led by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, on all of the public spaces; acoustician Paul Scarbrough of Akustiks; and theater designer Joshua Dachs of Fisher Dachs Associates. Turner Construction Company is serving as construction manager and the firms Kohler Ronan and Thornton Tomasetti are providing engineering services. More details can be found at www.davidgeffenhall.info.