Three architectural firms have been chosen as finalists to design a $325 million symphony hall for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.

        They are Norman Foster, Raphael Moneo and the team of Richard Meier and Arata Isozaki.

        Mr. Foster designed the expansion of the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court at the British Museum in London. Mr. Moneo designed the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastian, Spain. Mr. Meier designed the Getty Center in Los Angeles, and Mr. Isozaki designed the Kyoto Concert Hall in Kyoto, Japan.

        The finalists were chosen by the board of the Lincoln Center Constituent Development Project, an ad-hoc redevelopment group comprised of representatives of each of the performing arts groups at Lincoln Center, including the New York Philharmonic and the Juilliard School.

        The winner will be chosen in October or November, a Lincoln Center spokeswoman said. Construction is not expected to begin until 2005, for a 2008 completion date.

        Project executive director Rebecca Robertson said last week that the board hadn't decided whether the winning architect would extensively redesign Avery Fisher Hall or demolish that symphony hall to build a new one.

        The construction funds would come through private donations and government grants.

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