JB&B completes engineering work at Cornell Tech

October 17, 2017 - Design / Build

New York, NY Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B) has completed its work at Cornell Tech’s new campus on Roosevelt Island. JB&B Partner Scott Frank supervised engineering on the innovative project’s master plan and The Bridge building on campus with associate Maxwell Hatfield-Biondo. The advanced technology needed for the campus, which opened this month, called for masterful design delivered with foresight and flexibility to accommodate the variable needs of the Cornell Tech community, including faculty, students, staff, companies, startups and visitors. 

Cornell Tech brings together faculty, business leaders, tech entrepreneurs and students in a catalytic environment to produce visionary results grounded in significant needs that will reinvent the way we live in the digital age. Three buildings opened as part of the first phase of the campus, including The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Center, the first academic building on campus, The House, a residential building that is the world’s largest Passive House, and The Bridge.

The Bridge, designed by WEISS/MANFREDI and developed by Forest City New York, is a first-of-its-kind building where an extraordinary mix of cutting-edge companies from diverse industries will have the opportunity to work alongside groundbreaking Cornell academic teams: from recent Cornell Tech graduates hustling to commercialize a new idea, to start-ups on the verge of explosive growth and established companies developing leading edge technologies and products. The building features gathering areas on each level, including a light-filled, multi-level Tech Gallery and a rooftop terrace sheltered by a solar trellis. Tech and investment firm Two Sigma is opening a Collision Lab in the building where engineers from its R&D team will tackle difficult challenges away from the company’s main campus, and where innovative start-ups backed by Two Sigma Ventures can thrive in an intense, productive and creative environment. Citigroup is taking space to engage with Cornell University students, faculty, researchers, and startups to work on emerging technologies such as blockchain, machine learning and big data applications, biometric authentication, Internet of Things, and cyber security. Ferrero International S.A., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chocolates, is taking space for its Open Innovation Science division to explore digital age innovation in the food industry.

The campus will provide an unrivaled urban platform for collaboration, facilitating creative collisions between academia and the world. As part of an increasingly socially-conscious society in the digital age, it was imperative that Cornell Tech’s commitment to sustainable technology be reflected in the project. JB&B’s quality reputation and portfolio of work in flagship locations across New York City made them the trusted choice. As a LEED Accredited Professional, Frank has managed energy-efficient projects across the city, from Bryant Park to the office towers of the World Trade Center. His expertise in heating, ventilation and air conditioning design was a key driver in achieving Cornell’s energy conservation vision.

Building this unprecedented campus meant being a team player in a multi-stakeholder project with a third-party developer and multiple construction crews. On a post-Hurricane Sandy island, the geography alone posed challenges that required deployment of newly initiated strategies for resiliency.  Accommodating the continuous and unpredictable changes of the digital world was an even greater test; from the amorphous possibilities of the future, JB&B considered the long-term to develop a comprehensive plan and delivered a fully-equipped, expandable and flexible, boutique office space at a cost-savings. 

“The magic we brought to this project involved highly integrated solutions for a distinctive piece of contextual architecture, with ultimate flexibility in distributing infrastructure services to the various tenants over time, all cost-effectively,” Frank said. “This was not a typical project, and it’s incredibly rewarding to have delivered on this welcome challenge.”

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