National Black Theatre

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

© Rendering courtesy of Frida Escobedo Studio and Handel Architects. ©
Located at the midblock, the new entrance to the National Black Theater draws visitors down 5th Avenue with an expansive marquee, illuminated signage, and artwork that references the theater’s extensive New Sacred Art collection.
© Marvel

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and Black. Where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can ‘blow our minds’ with Blackness.”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita via National Black Theatre
© Rendering courtesy of Frida Escobedo Studio and Handel Architects.
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
Staircase Rendering © Marvel
Lobby Rendering © Marvel
© Marvel
Reflecting the original design of NBT's lobby, the Great Ancestral Hall is the focal point of the new design. A place to gather and connect, it features NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art.
Soul Den Rendering © Marvel

National Black Theatre is an oasis; a place where the Black experience is re-woven, re-told, and re-imagined as a source of our redemption and collective healing,”

Van Jones, NBT Board Member via Harlem World Magazine 
© Marvel
The NBT's new 99-seat studio theater will open up possibilities for performance, allowing multiple seating layouts and stage formats and providing the technical systems required for a modern state of the art performance space.

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N7 medium
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N10 medium
Located at the midblock, the new entrance to the National Black Theater draws visitors down 5th Avenue with an expansive marquee, illuminated signage, and artwork that references the theater’s extensive New Sacred Art collection.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N8 medium

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and Black. Where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can ‘blow our minds’ with Blackness.”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita via National Black Theatre
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N9 medium
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N3 medium
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N2 medium
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N5 medium
Reflecting the original design of NBT's lobby, the Great Ancestral Hall is the focal point of the new design. A place to gather and connect, it features NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel medium

“National Black Theatre is an oasis; a place where the Black experience is re-woven, re-told, and re-imagined as a source of our redemption and collective healing,”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita Van Jones, NBT Board Member via Harlem World Magazine 
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N6 medium
The NBT's new 99-seat studio theater will open up possibilities for performance, allowing multiple seating layouts and stage formats and providing the technical systems required for a modern state of the art performance space.

National Black Theatre

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

© Rendering courtesy of Frida Escobedo Studio and Handel Architects. ©
Located at the midblock, the new entrance to the National Black Theater draws visitors down 5th Avenue with an expansive marquee, illuminated signage, and artwork that references the theater’s extensive New Sacred Art collection.
© Marvel

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and Black. Where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can ‘blow our minds’ with Blackness.”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita via National Black Theatre
© Rendering courtesy of Frida Escobedo Studio and Handel Architects.
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
Staircase Rendering © Marvel
Lobby Rendering © Marvel
© Marvel
Reflecting the original design of NBT's lobby, the Great Ancestral Hall is the focal point of the new design. A place to gather and connect, it features NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art.
Soul Den Rendering © Marvel

National Black Theatre is an oasis; a place where the Black experience is re-woven, re-told, and re-imagined as a source of our redemption and collective healing,”

Van Jones, NBT Board Member via Harlem World Magazine 
© Marvel
The NBT's new 99-seat studio theater will open up possibilities for performance, allowing multiple seating layouts and stage formats and providing the technical systems required for a modern state of the art performance space.

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N7 medium
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N10 medium
Located at the midblock, the new entrance to the National Black Theater draws visitors down 5th Avenue with an expansive marquee, illuminated signage, and artwork that references the theater’s extensive New Sacred Art collection.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N8 medium

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and Black. Where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can ‘blow our minds’ with Blackness.”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita via National Black Theatre
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N9 medium
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N3 medium
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N2 medium
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N5 medium
Reflecting the original design of NBT's lobby, the Great Ancestral Hall is the focal point of the new design. A place to gather and connect, it features NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel medium

“National Black Theatre is an oasis; a place where the Black experience is re-woven, re-told, and re-imagined as a source of our redemption and collective healing,”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita Van Jones, NBT Board Member via Harlem World Magazine 
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N6 medium
The NBT's new 99-seat studio theater will open up possibilities for performance, allowing multiple seating layouts and stage formats and providing the technical systems required for a modern state of the art performance space.

National Black Theatre

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

© Rendering courtesy of Frida Escobedo Studio and Handel Architects. ©
Located at the midblock, the new entrance to the National Black Theater draws visitors down 5th Avenue with an expansive marquee, illuminated signage, and artwork that references the theater’s extensive New Sacred Art collection.
© Marvel

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and Black. Where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can ‘blow our minds’ with Blackness.”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita via National Black Theatre
© Rendering courtesy of Frida Escobedo Studio and Handel Architects.
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
Staircase Rendering © Marvel
Lobby Rendering © Marvel
© Marvel
Reflecting the original design of NBT's lobby, the Great Ancestral Hall is the focal point of the new design. A place to gather and connect, it features NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art.
Soul Den Rendering © Marvel

National Black Theatre is an oasis; a place where the Black experience is re-woven, re-told, and re-imagined as a source of our redemption and collective healing,”

Van Jones, NBT Board Member via Harlem World Magazine 
© Marvel
The NBT's new 99-seat studio theater will open up possibilities for performance, allowing multiple seating layouts and stage formats and providing the technical systems required for a modern state of the art performance space.

A new home to honor the past and the future of the National Black Theatre.

After more than 50 years of developing and producing transformational work by black artists, the National Black Theatre is working with Marvel to design a new multipurpose performing arts venue on the site of their original home in East Harlem. Built within a larger mixed-use development at the corner of 125th Street and 5th Avenue, the new NBT home is a tribute to both the past and the future of the organization, bringing together NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art, a new suite of technical capabilities for theater making, and a rich architectural & material language that incorporates NBT's history and identity. The new space will house a 99-seat studio theater and a 250-seat flexible space designed for immersive experiences, events, and presentations.

2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N7 medium
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N10 medium
Located at the midblock, the new entrance to the National Black Theater draws visitors down 5th Avenue with an expansive marquee, illuminated signage, and artwork that references the theater’s extensive New Sacred Art collection.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N8 medium

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and Black. Where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can ‘blow our minds’ with Blackness.”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita via National Black Theatre
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N9 medium
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N3 medium
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N2 medium
The new mixed use residential tower was designed by Frida Escobedo in collaboration with NBT. The theater itself, designed by Marvel, occupies the base.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N5 medium
Reflecting the original design of NBT's lobby, the Great Ancestral Hall is the focal point of the new design. A place to gather and connect, it features NBT's extensive collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art.
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel medium

“National Black Theatre is an oasis; a place where the Black experience is re-woven, re-told, and re-imagined as a source of our redemption and collective healing,”

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder & CEO at Emerita Van Jones, NBT Board Member via Harlem World Magazine 
2105 National Black Theatre Marvel N6 medium
The NBT's new 99-seat studio theater will open up possibilities for performance, allowing multiple seating layouts and stage formats and providing the technical systems required for a modern state of the art performance space.

Location

New York, NY

Client

National Black Theatre

Typology

Size

24,400 SF

Design Team

Jonathan Marvel, Lissa So, Josh Schecter, Zack Griffin, Roujia Bai

Consultants

Studio & Projects (Interiors); Charcoalblue (Theatre, Acoustics); Polise Consulting Engineers (MEPFP); WSP (Structure); Fisher Marantz Stone (Lighting); Signage (Isometric); IT, Security (SMW)