Our design for the reconstruction of NYU’s Department of Linguistics transforms a turn-of-the-twentieth-century, multi-story manufacturing building into a cohesive, vibrant academic facility. The redesign aims to improve communication between the five divisions of the Department and give the program a larger public presence in the University. The first floor is now an inviting public space with a generous reception area, student lounge, and two lecture rooms that are directly visible from the street. Each of the four upper stories houses a different division and creates a collaborative environment by locating lounges and teaching labs at the center of the space and surrounding them with student and faculty offices. The large, movable glass walls of the lounges allow for the expansion of the laboratory environments when needed. To improve energy performance we installed an energy efficient HVAC system, used recycled materials, increased the amount of natural light, and introduced energy efficient lighting.