The master plan that Helpern Architects and Robert Geddes, a colleague and faculty member, developed for New York University’s Washington Square campus called for transparency, to emphasize NYU’s open system of education. The first new building that the Stern School of Business occupied – also the first new building at the Washington Square campus in a decade – answered the mandate in spades.
Built to strengthen the academic relationship between the graduate and undergraduate divisions, the 210,000-sf center fills the space between two existing buildings. Features include a four-story rotunda, ceiling-to-floor windows, and usable terraces. Helpern also redesigned its forecourt, NYU’s only plaza. The buff-colored concrete-and-granite building provides a strong visual identity for this nationally ranked program.
The greatest challenge was to accommodate the limited site, a “sideways” footprint between two adjoining halls and to build over an existing co-generation plant and below-grade classrooms. The new and existing buildings now function as a single structure.
The assignment also included the renovation of existing classrooms and offices for the Business School’s undergraduate division.
