In Progress: John Jay College / SOM

John Jay College of Criminal Justice, an active college in the City University of New York, currently occupies a former Public School building, Haaren Hall, on 10th Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets. With ownership of the entire Manhattan block, the college has ambitions to grow over two phases into the full Zoning capacity of the block. The charge of this project is to occupy the entire site with an integrated campus while providing a base for future growth.

The massing of the proposed expansion attempts to create a strong urban form, providing the college identity within the city. The building grows from an existing datum set in the adjacent Haaren Hall limestone base and dramatically rises to the west creating maximum visibility from both 10th Avenue and the Westside Highway. The presence of a significant Campus Commons is created in the void between the existing and new structures. A significant cantilever over 11th Avenue responds to the McKim, Mead and White designed Con Edison building across the street.

Challenged with extreme programmatic density, the college aspires to provide traditional campus attributes to its Liberal Arts and Graduate students. The program contains a balance between faculty and student functions composed of Student Services, Lounges, Assembly Spaces, Classrooms, Departmental Offices, Research Labs and Teaching Labs. The full program represents an entire college campus compressed into one city block, vertically. The diverse campus acts as a city within the city.

The Interior is organized by a cascading sequence of public circulation, dispersing students vertically through the facility. The cascade acts to organize program elements, maximize natural light, enhance orientation, provide access to all functions, and encourage interaction. Large stepped lounges provide both circulation and gathering spaces. The diagonal flow of traffic acts in dramatic contrast to the existing site slope, integrating all major instructional and amenity spaces in two directions. The Campus Commons acts as the culmination of the Cascade, creating a spiral public sequence that again connects with Haaren Hall at the main classroom level. The cascading flow acts to integrate the entire block into one unified college campus. Above the level of the commons the flow of circulation is directly vertical, with a series of interlocking Academic Quads: the Sciences Quad, the Law and Police Science Quad and the Humanities Quad.

The exterior facade is designed to create a counter point to the existing Haaren Hall. An all glass building is proposed to allow the diverse programmatic functions to read on the exterior demonstrating the “transparency of justice.” A series of large openings are composed on the façade giving greater presence to distinct program spaces while creating playful urban gestures. Through the use of white ceramic frit, the building skin will contrast significantly with the dark glass and masonry buildings of its context. Variation within the façade is created with the modulation of varying depth “fins” with contrasting surface treatments on opposing sides. Through this use of texture the surface will change in color and density depending on the viewer’s relation to the building. This experiential façade will appear to “blush” to its viewers as they move through the city.

Client: City University of New York, Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
Lead Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
T.J. Gottesdiender, Managing Partner
Mustafa Abadan, Design Partner
Marilyn Taylor, Planning Partner
Jeff Young, Project Manager
Christopher Cooper, Senior Designer
Lisa Gould, Senior Designer
Gaetano Punzi, Senior Technical Coordinator
Lai Mei Chau, Senior Technical Coordinator

Preconstruction & Construction Manager: Turner Construction Co.
MEP Engineering & Vertical Transportation: Jaros Baum & Bolles
Structural Engineering: Leslie E. Robertson Associates, RLLP
Laboratories Planning: GPR Planners Collaborative, Inc.
Higher Education Programming: Scott Blackwell Page Architect
Civil/Geotechnical/Hazardous Materials: Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, P.C.
Lighting: SBLD Studio
Food Service: Romano Gatland
Acousitcs, AV, IT, Telecommunications: Shen Milsom & Wilke
Cost Estimating: AccuCost Construction Consultants, Inc.
Graphics: Lebowitz/Gould/Design, Inc.
Zoning: Development Consulting Services, Inc.
Expediting Services: Jerome S. Gillman Consulting Architect, P.C.

Location: New York, New York, USA
Total Project Size: 620,000 gross square feet
Building Height: 240 feet
Total Stories: 14 above grade
Schedule Design: 2003 – 2006
Construction: 2007 – 2010 est.