Architect For Science Building Announced

Following years of speculation about the possibility of a major new building on the Morningside Heights campus, University President Lee Bollinger last week announced the appointment of Rafael Moneo as the architect for a new science building above Dodge Gymnasium.

Moneo, an internationally prominent architect based in Madrid, will be charged with completing what is referred to as the Northwest Corner science building, which has become a symbol of the discontent about the lack of space and resources in the science departments.

Bollinger described Moneo as "one of the great architects of our time," saying that his past projects demonstrate an ability to overcome the structural issues of erecting a new building in this location, on top of the current tennis courts in front of Pupin Hall.

"His projects show an extreme sensitivity to context, [and he is] very creative about practical problems," Bollinger said. "It is a major issue to build a significant new building above the gymnasium on this corner of campus."

Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture Mark Wigley, who advised Bollinger during the selection process, added that Moneo is well respected for his resourcefulness in difficult projects, which currently include an extension to the Prado Museum in Madrid.

"He's very, very thoughtful, so it makes perfect sense for him to do a project for a university, for in a way he's one of us-he thinks like a university person," Wigley said.

The plan for a new building for the sciences in this location was first proposed during the tenure of former University President George Rupp. Last December, Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin said he expected an architect to be named within "several weeks." Bollinger acknowledged that the nine-month-long period required to select an architect had stretched the patience of some on campus, but that it was "not long in the typical sense of being long."

The delay in selecting an architect has not been the only source of dissatisfaction for some within the sciences at Columbia. Professor of Astronomy David Helfand said that for several years there have been doubts about the likelihood of the project being completed at all.

"This has been a major topic of discussion because space is always what we discuss at Columbia and there has been, I think it's fair to say, over the last three years some frustration at the pace of getting this underway," Helfand said. He added that the date of 2010 mentioned for completion of the building "did prompt a comment that it's always going to be five years from now when this building is done."

Both Bollinger and Wigley stressed the symbolic importance of the building as most likely the last major structure to be built based on McKim, Mead and White's original plan for the Morningside Heights campus.

"This is the only major gap in the original scheme," Wigley said. "It's respecting the traditional University while creating a space for its most experimental research."

But Helfand pointed to the needs of the science departments in the short term, including the necessity of more lab space and renovation of existing facilities.

"Just building one shiny new building is not going to solve all of our problems," he said.
Wigley said it was exciting to work with a university president "who's obviously so much in love with architecture."

"I'm basically very happy and I think the architecture community is going to be really curious about this because this is really a great architect working in New York City, and that doesn't always happen," Wigley said. "It's going to be a wonderful thing."