Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, New York

About

A continuous band of circulations and communal spaces rises along the south facade of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, located in Washington Heights district, within the Columbia University Medical Center campus. The 14-story tower houses technologically advanced teaching facilities, concentrating its more public areas – including auditoriums, classrooms, and communal spaces – in its completely glazed rear side. Construction-wise, what most stand out in this newly opened building are its structure of reinforced concrete, from which spaces hang in a cascade; the opaque cladding formed by prefabricated panels of GRC (glassfiber-reinforced concrete); and the glass curtain wall. Creating a contrast with the transparent main facade, the north one contains offices and specialized teaching spaces – classrooms, laboratories, and workshops – behind a skin that filters light through fritted glass that can be more or less opaque depending on the program. This combination of flexible spaces and gathering areas suggests a change of paradigm in the way medicine is taught, favoring a dynamic exchange between students, professors, and the community.

Sources

• Arquitectura Viva