The New World Center, home of the New World Symphony, is a stunning concert hall and campus designed by Frank Gehry and completed in 2011 in Miami Beach. The 100,000 square foot facility features Gehry's signature sculptural forms with sweeping glass walls, acoustic innovation, and multimedia capabilities. The building includes a 756-seat performance hall and outdoor projection wall for simulcast concerts in SoundScape Park.
The orchestra pit and other below-grade waterproofing areas were difficult to execute because dewatering could not consistently keep groundwater low enough for typical installation conditions. The site’s water behavior created a narrow window to build and detail a watertight system without compromising continuity.
The approach required more dewatering effort than usual and a more adaptive plan. The team worked with tide patterns, adjusted sequencing to install membrane as quickly as feasible, and advanced the work in smaller, controlled sections to maintain surface prep quality, continuity at laps/terminations, and integrity at transitions.
By aligning installation windows with water conditions and tightening the work-area limits, the below-grade waterproofing scope was able to progress without relying on a conventional, long-open excavation approach. The project team achieved a more controlled installation environment for critical below-grade areas, supporting continuity of the system where it mattered most for long-term performance.