The new University Center will provide students and faculty with much needed academic and social spaces within one building. The varied program includes an auditorium, the main university library, lecture halls, classrooms, laboratories, distant learning center, informal study spaces, a cafeteria, retail cafes, and a 600-bed dormitory with a fitness center.

Project Facts

Completion Year: 2013
Project Area: 364,000 ft²
Number of Stories: 16

Project Awards

2011 • Chicago Athenaeum • Green Good Design Award

Located at the intersection of 14th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, this new, multipurpose facility is intended to become the “heart” of The New School, with virtually all schools and departments of the University represented in the building. Providing space for all aspects of a traditional campus, the building features 200,000 square feet of academic space on the first seven floors and 150,000 square feet for a 600-bed dormitory on the levels above.

Interactive spaces are dispersed vertically throughout the section and tied together with three iconic fire stairs that are unraveled to weave their way through the building, providing ample opportunities to chance encounters and unstructured conversation. Long, loft-style spaces between these interactive zones offer highly flexible and easily adaptable areas for design studios, classrooms, and computing labs. The building also includes an 800-seat auditorium, library, cafeteria, faculty resource room, faculty offices, student lounges, and a two-story lobby/café space.

The University Center is designed to LEED Gold standards and envisioned to be a model for energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and sustainability—with the goal of 29.6% reduction in energy use from ASHRAE 90.1 (2007) requirements.