NYU Langone Health, Science Building and School of Medicine

While teaching and research programs have historically been distributed across the campus, Ennead’s 2010 master plan proposed consolidating the academic programs on the southwest corner of the campus, organizing teaching, conference, administrative, and academic-life programs around a central courtyard. A new 18-story, 365,000-square-foot research tower anchors one side of the quadrangle and serves as a prominent gateway to the research and educational zone on campus.

The lobby of the research building acts as an academic commons, providing a coffee bar, cafeteria, meeting rooms, informal social and collaboration spaces, and a central gathering space where the community can come together for public announcements and events.

Across the courtyard from the commons is the new Medical Library, which includes individual and group study space and classrooms equipped for project-based learning. The library also houses the Center for Bioinformatics, supporting the development of new digital tools and visualization for medical education.

The design of the laboratories within the research tower emphasizes flexibility. Lab benches are entirely modular and can be easily relocated or removed. All power and gases are supplied from “umbilical cords” at the ceiling to facilitate the reconfiguration or reprogramming of the space.

“Core Labs” within the building house specialized research assets that are made available to faculty from across departments. The shared resources support high utilization of equipment and promote interaction and collaboration among researchers. The Genome Technology Center is one such shared asset, providing a range of services related to genome sequencing and data analysis.