Columbia University recently unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art medical center and educational building designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) in partnership with Gensler as executive architect. The new design promotes a team-based mode of scholarship by weaving a network of social and study spaces across a 14-story tower. It will incorporate technologically advanced classrooms, a modern medical simulation center, an auditorium, and student lounges and cafes, all surrounded by multiple-purpose green spaces including a rooftop terrace with views of the Hudson River.

“The new Medical and Graduate Education Building will be the social and academic anchor of the Columbia University Medical Center campus,” says Elizabeth Diller, principal-in-charge of the project at DS+R. “Spaces for education and socializing are intertwined to encourage new forms of collaborative learning among students and faculty.”

The principle feature of the building has been labeled the “Study Cascade,” which interconnects continuous areas stretching from the ground floor lobby to the very top floor. Exposed interiors and southern-facing terraces are clad in wood and cement with complementing exterior glass facades. The entire design contributes sustainable construction techniques, and the University plans to meet LEED-Gold standards with their new addition to campus.  

“Both the building and the newly created green space that will surround it will also revitalize our campus in ways that will benefit both our medical center and the entire community,” says Lee Goldman, M.D., dean of the faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and executive vice president for Health and Biomedical Sciences at Columbia University.
Supported by a $50 million gift from Columbia University alumni P. Roy Vagelos, M.D. and Diana Vagelos, construction is scheduled to commence in early 2013 and will take approximately 42 months to complete.

For more information, please visit dsrny.com and cumc.columbia.edu.