Completed: 2016.

As part of ongoing capital improvements at Columbia University Medical Center campus in Washington Heights, Pliskin Architecture (panyc) has been hired to renovate and modernize the entrances to two residential towers on campus. The project goals included improving access control, egress, and connections to the new landscaped areas of the Vagelos Education Center.

The work includes new glass entrances and large metal canopies to create a smooth transition from the education campus to the student and faculty apartments that overlook the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge. The residential towers are set within two courtyards designed by SCAPE Landscape Architecture and are adjacent to the new Medical and Graduate Education Building by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler.

The programmatic challenges of making the entrances working for different campus constituents, combined with integrating the new construction with the DASNY-constructed dorm buildings from the 60’s to create a climate-tight enclosure, while upholding CUMC’s security goals required careful attention, and ultimately led to the successful completion of the work on schedule and in time for the Vagelos Education Center’s grand opening.

PROJECT TEAM

Architecture – Pliskin Architecture / Project Manager – Travis Bunt; Lead Designer – Mat Staudt; Design Team: Travis Bunt, Tom Heltzel, James Quick, Barak Pliskin, Mat Staudt
Structure – Leslie E. Robertson Associates
MEP – 2LS Consulting Engineering
Facade – AM Design Group
Lighting – Megan Pfeffer Trimarchi
Estimating – ELLANA
Expediter – Conversano
General Contractor – Legacy Builders