CUMC School of Nursing

Superstructure has topped out and curtain wall installation has begun at Columbia University Medical Center's (CUMC) new home for the School of Nursing at the corner of Audubon Avenue and West 168th Street in Washington Heights. Only the final floor of the seven story structure remains to be erected.

Designed by FXFOWLE, the 90,000-square-foot building will house CUMC's School of Nursing, one of the oldest in the country. The new building will provide 65 percent more space than the school's current home on West 168th Street, adjacent to the Fort Washington Armory. Inside, the building will feature a state-of-the art simulation center that includes mock in-patient room, exam room, critical care unit, and an operating room.

The ground floor will feature a double height atrium lobby and café that reveals the building's activity to the neighborhood. At the seventh floor, a setback event space will be located adjacent to a rooftop terrace for casual interaction between faculty, staff, and students.

The curtain wall design features full floor glass units with a white vertical frit in either a gradient or consistently dense pattern to achieve a macro level pattern on the façade.

The building has been designed to achieve LEED Silver and is expected to be completed in 2017.

Architect: FXFOWLE; Engineer: DeSimone Consulting Engineers; MEP Engineer: AKF Group; Civil Engineer: Langan Engineering; Developer: Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC); Program: Education; Location: Washington Heights, New York, NY; Completion: 2017.