Bloomberg Center

Winner of a citation in the 2017 P/A Awards

“It’s a complex structure that is really rich in space and light. The sustainable aspects are quite good, and the public and private spaces flow nicely.”
—juror Enrique Norten, Hon. FAIA

Slated to open later this year, the Bloomberg Center is the first of three main buildings in the $2 billion Cornell Tech campus on New York’s Roosevelt Island. Part of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2011 initiative to make the city a global hub for technology development, the campus is a joint venture between Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and Israel’s Technion University. The Bloomberg Center proper will house research, teaching, and meeting space for graduate-level STEM students and faculty; the other two buildings will, respectively, offer university housing and offices for companies working with Cornell’s various science departments. Designed by Culver City, Calif.– and New York–based Morphosis Architects, the 150,000-square-foot Bloomberg Center sits along a north-south axis on a narrow plot at the western side of the 12-acre campus, and is organized around an entry lobby that aligns with 57th Street in Manhattan, visually tying the campus back to the city. A monumental staircase oriented toward Queens, to the east, rises from the first floor—which features an auditorium and two large lecture halls—up through the center’s four additional levels, which are populated by open-plan classrooms along the building’s western edge and smaller private meeting rooms and faculty offices to the east. As part of the campus’ overall sustainability mandate, the Bloomberg Center aims to be a net-zero energy consumer: Its roof features an overhanging “energy canopy” with a solar array that also shades a roof terrace; the building also sports a geothermal well system and a rainwater collection tank.

Project Credits
Project: Bloomberg Center, New York
Client: Cornell University
Architect: Morphosis Architects, Culver City, Calif. . Thom Mayne, FAIA, (design director); Ung-Joo Scott Lee, AIA, (project principal); Luke Yoo (project architect, construction); Edmund Ming Yip Kwong, Nicolas Fayad, Jerry Figurski (project designers); Jean Oei (project designer, programming); Cory Brugger, Kerenza Harris (digital technology); Chloe Brunner, Stuart Franks, Farah Harake, Clayton Henry, Ted Kane, Hunter Knight, Simon McGown, Go-Woon Seo, Stan Su, Suzanne Tanascaux (project team); Christopher Battaglia, Marco Becucci, Carmelia Chiang, Vivian Chen, Paul Cambon, Tom Day, Chris Eskew, Yong Fei Gu, AIA, Joe Filippelli, Yoon Her, Sean Kim, Jongwan Kwon, Sangyun Lee, Ryan Leifield, Haidi Liu, Assoc. AIA, Michelle Park, Vincent Parlatore, Conway Pedron, Nicole Meyer, Jason Minor, Brian Richter, Danny Salamoun, Ben Salance, Matthew Tarpley, Ben Toam (project assistants); Stuart Franks, Jasmine Park, Nathan Skrepcinski, Sam Tannenbaum (visualization)
Structural / M/E/P / Sustainability / Façade / Lighting / Acoustics / Audiovisual / IT / Security / Smart Building: Arup
Cost Estimator: Dharam Consulting
Geotechnical: Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers
Code: CCI, Code Consultants
Specifications: Construction Specifications
Waterproofing: Henshell & Buccellato
Kitchen Consultant: Jacobs Doland Beer
General Contractor: Barr & Barr
Façade Construction: A. Zahner Company
Preconstruction CM: Tishman Construction
Owner’s Representative: Forest City
Ratner Cos.
Size: 150,000 gross square feet
Cost: Withheld