Inside Lincoln Center, on the island of Manhattan, the bowels of the prestigious David Geffen Hall concert hall, where the "Phil" has performed since 1962, were clearly visible during a visit by AFP .

More than 600 workers and technicians work permanently on site, on a rotating shift system, six days a week and with overtime, to transform the compound into a state-of-the-art space, more accessible and equipped with better acoustic.

In this image made available by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (courtesy Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects), a preview of David Geffen Hall when construction is complete - Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects/AFP

Objective: to bring one of the oldest and most famous musical institutions in the United States back to its setting in the summer for the first tests, before an official reopening in October.

The very first discussions on the need to renovate the hall date back to 1995, but the project dragged on for a long time.

Paradoxically, the pandemic, by forcing the David Geffen Hall to close to the public, accelerated the process.

The renovation site of David Geffen Hall, the concert hall where the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performs, March 2, 2022 ANGELA WEISS AFP

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We could do something positive out of this disaster," Phil director Deborah Borda told AFP.

The new venue will feature a lobby twice the size, a sidewalk studio for performances visible from the street, and improved acoustics made possible by redesigned wall surfaces and a raised stage ceiling.

The renovation site of David Geffen Hall, the concert hall where the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performs, March 2, 2022 ANGELA WEISS AFP

The renovation reduces the capacity from 2,738 to 2,200 seats, but visibility will be improved for almost all seats in the hall, and some audience members will be placed behind the orchestra, providing a unique view.

Cost of the operation: 550 million dollars, financed by fundraising, in particular from the one whose name the room bears, the magnate of the music industry David Geffen.

Since the fall, the orchestra, which resumed its concerts after the pandemic, had to find new spaces within Lincoln Center.

In this image made available by the New York Philharmonic (courtesy Diamond Schmitt Architects), a preview of David Geffen Hall when construction is complete - Diamond Schmitt Architects/AFP

For the president of the cultural center Henry Timms, the pandemic offered an opportunity: "rather than taking four years, (the construction site) could take two years".

And in a city hard hit by the Covid, with a spring of 2020 where everything came to a standstill with hundreds of deaths every day at the height of the crisis, "it would be a powerful symbol of our confidence" in New York, he adds.

© 2022 AFP