Perelman Performing Arts Center
A Dynamic Cultural Cornerstone The Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) was envisioned over 20 years ago as a cultural cornerstone in the World Trade Center’s redevelopment. Now a reality, PAC NYC is a vibrant home for theater, dance, music, opera, and film. The building offers radical flexibility through three main auditoriums that combine into ten different configurations, offering over 60 stage-audience arrangements with seating capacities from 90 to 950. PAC NYC’s innovative wayfinding system ensures clarity, accessibility, and efficiency, enhancing the guest experience in a highly adaptable space.
The Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) was envisioned over 20 years ago as a cultural cornerstone in the World Trade Center’s redevelopment. Now a reality, PAC NYC is a vibrant home for theater, dance, music, opera, and film. The building offers radical flexibility through three main auditoriums that combine into ten different configurations, offering over 60 stage-audience arrangements with seating capacities from 90 to 950. PAC NYC’s innovative wayfinding system ensures clarity, accessibility, and efficiency, enhancing the guest experience in a highly adaptable space.
The Challenge
Such adaptability brings a unique challenge: ensuring an intuitive guest experience despite ever-changing theater configurations. Our solution integrates permanent and flexible wayfinding elements, using illumination as a guiding thread. Ceiling lights animate toward elevators at showtime, strategically placed digital screens display performance imagery and directional messaging, and large illuminated sign elements highlight key decision points. Accessibility is prioritized, with tactile and braille information provided on all signage for visually impaired guests.
Unlike most theaters, PAC NYC is a vertical experience. Visitors must navigate multiple levels: Street Level to Lobby to Restrooms to Theaters to Mezzanine to Balconies. The lobby, one level above grade, is accessible via a grand staircase or an elevator through a passageway and features free concerts and a public restaurant. The main restrooms are a level above the lobby, with theaters situated another level up.
Three stair-elevator couplets provide access to the theaters and restrooms. However, stairs are around the corner from their corresponding elevators, requiring behavioral nudging. To streamline audience flow, we encouraged able-bodied patrons to take the stairs, preserving elevators for those with mobility challenges. Choice matters: only two elevator-stair couplets lead to the restrooms; only one elevator accesses the upper balconies, and one other provides access to the mezzanine.
PAC NYC is adjacent to the WTC Memorial, a cultural cornerstone in the World Trade Center’s redevelopment.
Iwan Baan
Strategically placed digital screens display performance imagery and directional messages during theater loading times and promotional content at other times.
Iwan Baan
Project Vision
Bold illuminated signage defines PAC NYC’s wayfinding approach. The building’s vertical layout is emphasized by visually stacked floor directories at each elevator. Thread-like illuminated arrows wrap around corners and point toward stair entrances, subtly encouraging able-bodied patrons to use the stairs.
With 60 potential theater configurations, some theater doors may be blocked based on the setup. Additionally, separate theaters are often combined into larger venues, preventing reliance on theater names for direction. Instead, we implemented numbered doors with large, illuminated numerals that can be turned off when the door is inaccessible due to a particular theater layout.
Bold stacked floor level directories at each elevator orient patrons to the vertical stack of the building. Illuminated thread-like arrows wrap around corners to encourage stair usage.
Iwan Baan
Stairs play a crucial role in reaching the Theater and Restroom Levels, with upgraded finishes and illuminated arrows to guide guests.
Iwan Baan
Design + Execution
Wayfinding extends beyond signage—it encompasses the entire guest journey, even before arrival. To simplify navigation, we collaborated with PAC NYC to ensure tickets indicate the ideal stair/elevator letter and door number for each person’s journey.
Public elevators highlight floors that can be accessed. In this Theater Level view, one indicates Balconies, while another indicates the Mezzanine.
Iwan Baan
We numbered all doors since varying configurations mean not all are operable. In typical theaters patrons navigate to theater names; here, tickets indicate door numbers. A “stair-row” indicates stair entrance.
Iwan Baan
Accessibility was prioritized, with all wayfinding signage incorporating tactile and braille information for visually impaired visitors.
Iwan Baan
Project Details
Design Team
Entro
Photo Credits
Iwan Baan
Open Date
September 2023