Owner
New York University School of Medicine
Architect
Mitchell/Giurgola Architects
Engineer
Severud Associates
Construction Manager
Turner Construction Company
Facade Consultant
R.A. Heintges & Associates
Completion
2006
Contract Value
6m
Program
13-stories; 230,000 sqft
Building Type
Medical / Research / Education
Technology Type
Glass Fin Systems, Point-fixed Bolted, Glass Fin/Point-Fixed Glass, AESS Fabrication
Facade
Design/build facade program including custom unitized curtainwall system, aluminum sunscreans, custom canopies with AESS steel and point-fixed structural glazing
Glass
1 inch insulated reflective patterned glass, fully tempered laminated and perforated structural glass with ceramic frit; reflective glass and acoustic components shield the building from its surrounding elements
Description
NYU revamps its medical facilities with the largest addition to Midtown Manhattan’s eastern sector in half a century
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NYU’s state-of-the-art facility is home to 40 multidisciplinary research teams dedicated to accelerating the development of new medical treatments. The Joan and Joel Smilow Research Center includes facilities for biomedical research such as cancer, cardiovascular biology, dermatology, genetics, infectious diseases and neuroscience. Of the building’s 230,000 square feet, nearly half are devoted to research laboratories.
The trapezoid shaped tower is the largest addition to Midtown Manhattan’s eastern sector in half a century, and the only major project expansion of the NYU campus in over a decade. Designs called for an open space laboratory area separated by neither walls nor doors to encourage interaction between scientists. The open laboratories, multiple meeting and class rooms, courtyard and 140 seat lecture hall also facilitate interaction.
The building stands open to direct sunlight throughout the day. To reduce glare from both sunlight and the adjacent East River, the structure’s building skin employs a highly reflective glass system with a ceramic frit. Aluminum sunscreens aid in reducing the glare of the east facing facade during the morning hours. To mitigate noise pollution from the surrounding urban environment, measures were taken to enhance the acoustic performance of the facade. 12 foot acoustic curtainwall units shield the facility from the noise of adjacent FDR Drive and a nearby helipad.
Site logistics were complicated by the dense urban site. Surrounded by buildings in tight quarters between the East River and amongst NYU’s extended campus in Midtown, construction staging areas were extremely limited. Enclos dealt with this challenge through a strategy of just-in-time delivery of prefabricated curtainwall units to the site, which were immediately installed by Enclos site operations crews.
This project received an Award of Merit, Higher Education category, from New York Construction Magazine, 2007. |
