FXCollaborative and CO won an invited competition to design a new seven-story School of Nursing for Columbia University Medical Center. Several key goals were paramount—to have a building with its own architectural “identity” within the Medical Center campus, to greatly expand curriculum and office space for programs, faculty, and staff, and to create a state-of-the-art simulation and clinical skills training space that serves as a model of sustainable design for healthcare facilities.
The lobby features dynamic circulation—a “ribbon” of stairs visible from the street—that weaves through the building and creates a distinct identity for the school. The north and east façades of the building are dedicated to faculty offices, conference rooms, and break-out spaces, and are surrounded by a layer of etched glass that brings in diffuse light and creates a lantern effect for the building. The core houses clinical simulation labs, research centers, computer labs, and flexible office spaces for PhD candidates and visiting faculty. Readily connected to the main research floors, the penthouse includes a student lounge and event space with a large green roof terrace for informal gatherings of students and faculty.
The design creates a bright, welcoming pavilion that anchors the surrounding campus and offers students meaningful social connections internally while opening outwards to the neighboring community.
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