New World Center is Kick-Ass Architecture, But Performance Hall Comes Across as Tacky

By now, it's well established that the New World Center is a pretty kick-ass piece of architecture. Frank Gehry's latest work has enchanted critics the world over with its restrained exterior and bizarrely beautiful, white-washed interior.But are we the only ones who think the concert hall itself is... um... a...
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By now, it’s well established that the New World Center is a pretty kick-ass piece of architecture. Frank Gehry’s latest work has enchanted critics the world over with its restrained exterior and bizarrely beautiful, white-washed interior.

But are we the only ones who think the concert hall itself is… um… a little tacky?

First, there’s the wood stage and staircases that, in a $160 million building, somehow manage to come across as cheap looking.

Then there’s the striped white paneling that looks more like vinyl siding than new age sound insulation.

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Last but not least hideous are the speckled pastel blue and sea foam-colored seats on all sides of the stage.

“They remind me of a hotel,” one visitor said. Not the luxury kind, we’re guessing. Even Gehry himself joked about the seats.

“When (acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota) picked the color of the seats, I was a little scared,” he said during a press tour of the performance hall on Tuesday. “But they do work. You are in Miami.”

We’ll leave that to you to decide. Below are some pics:

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