On February 18th, from 3:30 to 6:00 P.M., New School University held an open house to address the future of the 65 Fifth Avenue building and to provide more information to both faculty and students.
The open house, located at 55 West 13th Street, was structured with a representative present at individual stations concerning different elements of the building.
The open house provided those from the New School community an opportunity to ask desired questions and give feedback on the progress of the building, including information on the interior and exterior of the building, who’s been involved with the project, and overall planning.
“We’re trying to give the university community a 360 on everything about, not only the university center, but on capital projects and space planning,” said Tim Marshall, Provost & Co-Chair of the University Facilities Committee.
The New School, which, according to Marshall is “space-starved,” is in dire need of this new addition to its property. The necessity of the new building also stems from the lack of space at the Welcome Center located at 72 Fifth Avenue, which is supposed to serve at a centralizing space for New School. The space will accommodate the fast-paced growth of the New School community. The number of students taking credit at the New School has increased by 18 percent from Fall 2002 to Fall 2007.
The events revealed features of the new building that would, according to planners, better centralize the university and unite students from all eight schools.
“It’s going to be a dramatic impact on creating a campus for The New School,” said Frank Barletta, senior vice president for finance and business.
John Aubry, Assistant University Librarian for Access Services, believes that a certain element of the new building, in particular, will be a significant improvement.
“The [new] library will really be destination as the top of the academic heart of the building,” Aubry said.
According to Aubry, the library will provide ample study space that students now lack.
Though “we are never going to replicate the collection at Bobst,” said Aubry, referring to New York University’s large library that shares its collection with New School, “we want to focus on a collection that supports the teaching and learning needs of the New School.”
In addition to the expansion of New School’s library, the 65 Fifth Ave building will also include design studios, classrooms, resource centers, offices for faculty, laboratories, an auditorium, dining facilities, and dorm space on nine of the 16 floors.
Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill is the University Center’s design architect, The Durst Organization is the developer, and the Tishman Construction Corporation is the construction manager.
The building is planned to be completed by September 2013.
Good corrections, Kierra. For future reference, I would move up close to the top this sort of graph:
ReplyDeleteThe New School, which, according to Marshall is “space-starved,” is in dire need of this new addition to its property. The necessity of the new building also stems from the lack of space at the Welcome Center located at 72 Fifth Avenue, which is supposed to serve at a centralizing space for New School. The space will accommodate the fast-paced growth of the New School community. The number of students taking credit at the New School has increased by 18 percent from Fall 2002 to Fall 2007.
That's a lot of good contextual information that really makes the rest of the story feel more significant.
Does that make sense?
Very good