Lincoln Center Renovation Scrapped

His controversial Garden Bridge in London met its official demise in August. One month later his design for Pier 55, a public-private park for Manhattan in the Hudson River, was shelved. In those cases a combination of vocal opposition, lawsuits, and rising costs led to them being scrapped. The Geffen Hall renovation at Lincoln Center, a $500 million project announced in late 2015, was shelved due to practical questions: Who would pay for it? And where would the New York Philharmonic, the hall's main user, perform during the three years of construction.

According to a New York Times story from Wednesday, "After Lincoln Center, the hall’s landlord, and the Philharmonic, its primary tenant, both found themselves under new management this year and the scope of the plans became clear, their new leaders put the brakes on, opting to seek other ways to improve the hall’s bland auditorium, acoustics and common areas." Although "there is not yet a price tag, a design team, a time frame, or a specific set of proposals" for the revised project, "the new approach will be less monumental and more incremental."

Not all news for Heatherwick is bad. The construction of his Vessel sculpture at New York's Hudson Yards is moving forward at a brisk pace toward its completion next year, and the Zeitz MOCA opened in South Africa last month.