The recent transformation of Cornell University’s 160,000-sf Upson Hall could become a blueprint for how this Ivy League college updates other buildings within the engineering quad of its Ithaca, N.Y., campus.
The $74 million project maximized Upson Hall’s interior space featuring four new conference rooms, three social lounges, and public corridors for collaborative learning and research. Advanced envelope, HVAC, and lighting systems were installed to boost the building’s energy performance. And a variegated façade design, composed of terracotta and vertical windows, brings more natural light into the building.
A key factor in this project was the early and ongoing collaboration between the Building Team’s architects Perkins + Will (the original designer of Upson Hall in the 1950s) and Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis; with the engineers Thornton Tomasetti and ME Engineers; and Cornell University Sustainable Design.
P+W and LTL went so far as to embed staff members in each other’s offices during the project. And the collaboration with the engineers was critical because some of the client’s ideas for this building were at cross-purposes. “How do we design a façade that would maximize daylight and thermal capacity at the same time?” said David J. Lewis, a Principal with LTL Architects. The Building Team needed to reconcile aesthetic, energy, and daylight objectives, which included balancing the building’s wall-to-window ratio.
The collaboration “started with everyone being at the table, and with each team member’s commitment” to the process, says Robert Goodwin, architectural design director at P+W’s New York office.
Goodwin and Lewis are Cornell grads.
There was some consideration given to tearing down the building and constructing new. But that was quickly scotched, says Goodwin, because Upson Hall is located between three other buildings on the quad, and is attached to an atrium. The client and Building Team decided, instead, to completely gut the existing building and replace the façade strategically.
The new façade is cantilevered in a way that creates space for social interaction at the corner of the building, says Lewis.
Goodwin says Cornell was a collaborative partner on this project, and its aspirations for sustainability “were very high.” (At one point there was some discussion about reconstructing Upson Hall to Passive House standards.)
The building was designed with four new conference rooms, three social lounges, and public corridors for collaborative learning and research. Image: Michael Moran Photography
The building, which is currently LEED Gold-certified, pending Platinum certification, serves as a “living sustainability lab,” enabling mechanical and aerospace engineering students to work, learn and study in a high-performance, technologically advanced facility.
Upson Hall’s new design specifications will be applied to the other six Cornell buildings located within the engineering Quadrangle over the coming years.
LTL and P+W were so pleased with the interdisciplinary approach the Building Team took that the firms have talked about working together on future products. The revelation for Goodwin was that it’s possible to collaborate of projects in a different way that integrates practices. “This was my first time as a design director that I didn’t wear a design hat. It was very efficient.”
Related Stories
Student Housing | Feb 21, 2024
Student housing preleasing continues to grow at record pace
Student housing preleasing continues to be robust even as rent growth has decelerated, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Student Housing Report.
University Buildings | Feb 21, 2024
University design to help meet the demand for health professionals
Virginia Commonwealth University is a Page client, and the Dean of the College of Health Professions took time to talk about a pressing healthcare industry need that schools—and architects—can help address.
Higher Education | Feb 9, 2024
Disability and architecture: ADA and universal design at college campuses
To help people with disabilities feel part of the campus community, higher education institutions and architects must strive to create settings that not only adhere to but also exceed ADA guidelines.
Laboratories | Jan 25, 2024
Tactical issues for renovating university research buildings
Matthew Plecity, AIA, ASLA, Principal, GBBN, highlights the connection between the built environment and laboratory research, and weighs the benefits of renovation vs. new construction.
University Buildings | Jan 18, 2024
Houston’s Rice University opens the largest research facility on its core campus
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the 251,400-sf building provides students and researchers with state-of-the-art laboratories, classrooms, offices, and a cafe, in addition to multiple gathering spaces.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Jan 17, 2024
Waterproofing deep foundations for new construction
This continuing education course, by Walter P Moore's Amos Chan, P.E., BECxP, CxA+BE, covers design considerations for below-grade waterproofing for new construction, the types of below-grade systems available, and specific concerns associated with waterproofing deep foundations.
University Buildings | Jan 15, 2024
The death of single-use university buildings
As institutions aim to improve the lives of their students and the spaces they inhabit, flexible university buildings may provide an all-in-one solution.
University Buildings | Dec 8, 2023
Yale University breaks ground on nation's largest Living Building student housing complex
A groundbreaking on Oct. 11 kicked off a project aiming to construct the largest Living Building Challenge-certified residence on a university campus. The Living Village, a 45,000 sf home for Yale University Divinity School graduate students, “will make an ecological statement about the need to build in harmony with the natural world while training students to become ‘apostles of the environment’,” according to Bruner/Cott, which is leading the design team that includes Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Andropogon Associates.
University Buildings | Dec 5, 2023
The University of Cincinnati builds its largest classroom building to serve its largest college
The University of Cincinnati’s recently completed Clifton Court Hall unifies the school’s social science programs into a multidisciplinary research and education facility. The 185,400-sf structure is the university’s largest classroom building, serving its largest college, the College of Arts and Sciences.
Products and Materials | Nov 30, 2023
Top building products for November 2023
BD+C Editors break down 15 of the top building products this month, from horizontal sliding windows to discreet indoor air infusers.