New York University
John A. Paulson Center
New York, NY

735,000 SF • WITH KIERANTIMBERLAKE • LEED GOLD OR SILVER

The architectural team of Davis Brody Bond and KieranTimberlake worked with NYU on the John A. Paulson Center — a 735,000-square-foot mixed-use academic building that graciously accommodates NYU’s academic needs, embodies its character and vibrancy, and offers new ways for the University to engage with its community and the city of New York. Situated at the southern boundary of the main campus, it serves as a new gateway. Architecturally, it creates a transition between the existing superblocks — NYU’s Silver Towers and Washington Square Village — and the varied urban streetscape of Greenwich Village. The two firms shared design and documentation responsibilities through all phases of the project, which opened on 23 January 2023.

Designed to optimize interactions between diverse student groups and academic disciplines, the building includes classrooms, informal study spaces, performing arts theaters, rehearsal and practice rooms, varsity sports facilities, a recreational gymnasium, and a café, as well as faculty and first-year student housing. Each of these spaces is organized into a unique “neighborhood” that is connected to an open and expansive commons area for collaborative study, meeting and gathering.

Tisch School of the Arts and Steinhardt School of Music are both housed at the John A. Paulson Center, making performing arts one of the largest components in the multi-use facility with 195,000 square feet between the two schools. This new facility is home to a wide variety of learning environments for the world-class drama and music programs, with dedicated and collaborative spaces for teaching, learning, rehearsing, and performing. 

For more information about the Paulson Center including interviews with the Davis Brody Bond and KieranTimberlake design team, visit NYU’s Paulson Center website. You can access the Project Press Kit here.

  • This new facility is home to a wide variety of learning environments for the world-class drama and music programs, with dedicated and collaborative spaces for teaching, learning, rehearsing, and performing. Highlights include

    Iris Cantor Proscenium Theatre
    This is the first, professional-level proscenium theater at NYU. It can function as a Broadway-sized stage and fly tower or transform into a music concert hall perfectly sized and tuned to accommodate a wide variety of performances, including musical theater, film, spoken word, drama, and orchestral ensembles. Features: 350 seats over three levels • Features: a fly tower and lighting galleries, stage trap, overhead catwalks, orchestra shell and reflectors, canted throat walls adjacent to the proscenium for acoustic projection, followspot booth, and control booth • Large, mechanized orchestra lift that allows for various configurations such as audience seating, extension of the stage, and extension of the orchestra pit • Three floors of lobby space that seamlessly connect to the broader NYU community and theatergoers

    Warehouse Theatre
    This unique, experimental theater provides a flexible space for Tisch graduate students to explore and innovate. Features: 140 seats • Use of a Modtruss system to create the inner box, which is a fully demountable wall system made up of modular, reconfigurable elements • An overhead catwalk system with moveable catwalk trolleys • Fully reconfigurable seating platforms

    African Grove Theatre
    Named for the nation’s first black theater which was found on this same city block in 1821, the traditional end-stage theater includes a range of flexible components that support the Tisch graduate department curriculum. Features: 145 seats • A flexible seating well that provides opportunities for innovative performances • Motorized rigging on the stage side with dead-hung, fixed rigging on the audience side • Movable gantry

    Ensemble Rehearsal Room
    Sited within the landscape at the top of the podium, the orchestra ensemble room sits between two green roofs. The technologically innovative space is the crown jewel of the Steinhardt School of Music program. Features: Double-glazed wall providing visual connection to the exterior while acoustically separating the spaces from the noisy outside environment • Slatted, faceted walls to help control the acoustic quality in the space • Acoustic banners along the perimeter of the space to absorb and create different types of acoustic environments • An adjacent control booth that can serve as a recording studio

    Theater and Music Support Spaces
    In addition to the dedicated theater spaces and the orchestra ensemble room, the new building also provides a range of areas for Tisch and Steinhardt graduate and undergraduate students to rehearse, collaborate, and experiment. Features: 2 cabaret studios • 3 dance studios • 3 general purpose studios • 58 music practice rooms • Large ensemble music classroom • Percussion studio • Music instruction rooms • Music library • Dressing rooms • Woodshops and metal shops • Wardrobe work rooms

  • Architects
    Davis Brody Bond / KieranTimberlake

    Engineers
    Civil/Geotechnical Langan Engineering and Environmental Services
    MEP Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, P.C.
    Structural Severud Associates

    Consultants
    Acoustics/AV/IT/Security Cerami & Associates
    Athletics Sasaki
    Aquatics Counsilman-Hunsaker
    Code/Life Safety Code Consultants Inc.
    Cost Dharam Consulting
    Elevators Van Deusen & Associates
    Envelope Heintges Consulting Architects Engineers, P.C.
    Expediting Design 2147
    Façade Maintenance Lerch Bates
    FF&E Spacesmith
    Food Services Davella Studios
    Graphics Pentagram
    Landscape Architect Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates
    Lighting Tillotson Design Associates
    Materials Handling Kleinfelder
    Performance Acoustics/AV Jaffe Holden
    Roofing/Waterproofing Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
    Sustainability Atelier Ten
    Theater Fisher Dachs Associates

    Construction Manager
    Turner Construction Company

  • Size
    735,000 square feet

    Date Completed
    January 2023

    Program
    Classrooms, study spaces, commons, performing arts teaching and performance spaces, 350-seat proscenium theatre, athletic facilities, student residences, faculty apartments, landscaped terrace

    Sustainability / Environment
    LEED Gold or Silver
    Part of NYU’s plans for carbon neutrality by 2040
    25,000 square feet of green roofs
    135,000 gallon stormwater retention tank
    Stringent processes for indoor air quality, including GreenCleaning
    Custom frit pattern with 50% more density to reduce solar radiation
    Bird-Friendly Design

(Photography by Connie Zhou / JBSA)

Engaging Community
Along with serving as a hub for NYU students and faculty, the Paulson Center will engage with the larger New York City community. The building’s open and inviting northern entrance along Mercer, Greene, and Bleecker Streets leads to a welcoming public lobby that spans the entire width of the building. Along the building’s west side, Greene Street north of Houston Street has been reimagined as a new pedestrian “greenway” complete with a landscaped walk, benches, bike racks a dog park and a playgarden. 

Iris Cantor Proscenium Theatre
This is the first professional-level proscenium theater at NYU. It can function as a Broadway-sized stage and fly tower or transform into a music concert hall perfectly sized and tuned to accommodate a wide variety of performances, including musical theater, film, spoken word, drama, and orchestral ensembles.

Ensemble Rehearsal Room
Sited within the landscape at the top of the podium, the orchestra ensemble room sits between two green roofs. The technologically innovative space is the crown jewel of the Steinhardt School of Music program. It features a double-glazed wall providing visual connection to the exterior while acoustically separating the spaces from the noisy outside environment; and slatted, faceted walls to help control the acoustic quality in the space.

Diverse Cultural and Academic “Neighborhoods”
E-W partial section showing the varied programs of NYU’s “City within the City.” (1) Iris Cantor Proscenium Theatre; (2) Theatre Support ; (3) Warehouse Theatre; (4) Ensemble Classroom; (5) Music Practice Rooms; (6) Pool & Locker Rooms; (7) Varsity Performance; (8) Academic Stairs & Elevators; (9) Green Roof

African Grove Theatre
Named for the nation’s first black theater which was found on this same city block in 1821, the traditional 145-seat end-stage theater features a range of flexible components that support the Tisch graduate department curriculum.

Ensemble Rehearsal Room Control Booth
Located adjacent to the Ensemble Rehearsal Room of the Steinhardt School of Music, this space can also serve a technologically advanced recording studio.

Warehouse Theatre w/ Modtruss System
This unique, experimental theater provides a flexible space for Tisch graduate students to explore and innovate. It features: 140 seats; a Modtruss system to create the inner box, which is a fully demountable wall system made up of modular, reconfigurable elements; an overhead catwalk system with moveable catwalk trolleys; and fully reconfigurable seating platforms.

Ensemble Rehearsal Room

Music Instruction Room

Open Lounge

Rendered section along Mercer Street

Tisch School of the Performing Arts, Dance Program, 5th Floor Studio Classroom

Transparency
The building’s fritted glass façade takes advantage of the 360-degree relationship to Greenwich Village and SoHo, putting the building’s activity, colors, textures, and art on display. This transparency allows observers to witness the dynamism and vitality of the university, while conversely, students within the building will have the city’s vibrancy and street life as a backdrop to their own learning experience.