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Architects: Gruzen Samton • IBI Group
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Photographs:Paul Warchol Photography
Gruzen Samton• IBI Group is pleased to announce the opening of the new 89,000-square foot Human Ecology Building at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology. The project was comprised of three main components: a parking garage, a three-story academic/laboratory building, and a commons linking the new facility to adjacent existing college buildings, all linked seamlessly into the topography. This building is the new home for the Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design (FSAD) with administrative offices clustered on the terrace level and faculty offices and labs on the three main floors.
The space not only has upgraded facilities between departments, but also fosters collaboration between faculty, students and staff. The new building is loaded with high-tech research laboratories; versatile classrooms; inspirational studios for drawing, design and fabrication; a spacious gallery to display student and faculty works; and community spaces and seminar rooms to spark idea exchanges. “This building is state of the art and the labs are places for discovery that we have not had before,” said associate dean of research and graduate education Kay Obendorf.
A new 290-car garage, set into a severe slope, is clad in local stone to ground it into the landscape. The top of the garage plinth is the main terrace level connecting the new academic/ laboratory building to the commons and to the adjacent buildings and landscape. This building is in design for LEED Platinum certification; some of the green features include automatic ventilation, a green roof, electric vehicle charging stations, and a high-performance glass façade.
