Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center

The Columbia University Medical Center covers six blocks of New York, overlooking the Hudson River. Since 2016, it has been home to the avant-garde medical, teaching and simulation facility – the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center.

The building’s architecture creates a connection between the university’s school of medicine and the surrounding cityscape. Standing among the massive buildings of Upper Manhattan, the tower is like an eye-catching piece of graphic art – sculptural and elegant. Its innovative, transparent appearance reflects the Center’s aim to be a place where medicine is learnt collaboratively and holistically.

Brand: Permasteelisa North America, Gartner

Executive architect: Gensler

Design architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R)

Client & contractor: Scame Construction

Owner: Columbia University Medical Center

The project

The concept

With its 14 storeys rising 67m for a total surface area of around 10,000 sqm, the Vagelos Center has been described as a ‘baby tower’. The exterior follows the design of the interior, reflecting the square volume of the laboratories and classrooms behind it. On the south side, the Study Cascade resembles a deconstructed beehive, with different shapes marked out by striking string courses.

What did we do?

We designed, engineered, manufactured and installed unitised aluminium façade with integrated glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) elements and different silkscreen patterns/filigree façade for an overall area of approximately 6,000 sqm.