The LMDC has released the RFP for the Cultural Buildings at the WTC Site. RFP Conference is next week, and submissions due at the end of the month. No scoring criteria are outlined, so it’s hard for anyone to self-select (beyond the very obvious requirement of having successfully completed a project with a construction budget over $50 million). The only other thing that might constrict the field would be the potentially daunting submission requirements, which will favor firms that have weighty RFP’s on file. Very little useful information about the development is given, except that the LMDC is taking a clear ownership role of the development of the Memorial Center building, but is vague regarding the theater (to the point where they seem to infer that the Joyce and Signature may be forced to do their own fundraising). And they confirm what a nightmare the latter will be from a schematic standpoint: a 40,000 sq ft footprint that will have to house four theaters, ranging from 99-1000 seats, plus vertical circulation for two distinct facilities. The total is 300,000 sq of program space, a big chunk of which will need 3-4 times average floor height, making a tall, slender and awkward envelope. The idea of a black box theater on the 20th floor is interesting, but only if there is money in place to make it so.
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It’s days like these I don’t miss 254/255 forms.
The LMDC has released the RFP for the Cultural Buildings at the WTC Site. RFP Conference is next week, and submissions due at the end of the month. No scoring criteria are outlined, so it’s hard for anyone to self-select (beyond the very obvious requirement of having successfully completed a project with a construction budget over $50 million). The only other thing that might constrict the field would be the potentially daunting submission requirements, which will favor firms that have weighty RFP’s on file. Very little useful information about the development is given, except that the LMDC is taking a clear ownership role of the development of the Memorial Center building, but is vague regarding the theater (to the point where they seem to infer that the Joyce and Signature may be forced to do their own fundraising). And they confirm what a nightmare the latter will be from a schematic standpoint: a 40,000 sq ft footprint that will have to house four theaters, ranging from 99-1000 seats, plus vertical circulation for two distinct facilities. The total is 300,000 sq of program space, a big chunk of which will need 3-4 times average floor height, making a tall, slender and awkward envelope. The idea of a black box theater on the 20th floor is interesting, but only if there is money in place to make it so.