NW Construction to Close Dodge, Open Space

Long before Columbia turned its sights toward Manhattanville, there were rumblings of expansion a bit closer to home.

In September 2005, University President Lee Bollinger announced plans to build a multistory, interdepartmental science facility atop the northwest corner of the Dodge Fitness Center, putting an end to years of speculation about the last remaining gap in Columbia's original campus scheme.

Faculty members and administrators say that the new building will allow Columbia's science departments, long squeezed by limited research space, to expand and engage in interdisciplinary exchange. The facility, slated for completion in 2010, will include new labs and classrooms for the biology, chemistry, and physics departments.

"I don't think there's anything we could do right now for the sciences that's as important as improving the quantity and quality of the space," Ann McDermott, professor of biological sciences, chemical engineering, and chemistry, said in the fall.

In the same announcement, Bollinger named Rafael Moneo, a leading Spanish architect, as the building's designer. Moneo will submit preliminary plans for the building within the next few months, according to Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin.

But before the northwest corner building can alleviate Columbia's space crunch, it may create a smaller space crunch of its own. Kasdin said that Dodge Fitness Center is expected to close between spring 2007 and early fall 2008 as construction begins.

Although the proposed footprint of the new building only overlaps with the fitness center above Levien Gym, Kasdin said that the entire facility will likely shut down as the initial steel frame is laid for the tower.

For construction on top of an existing building, New York code requires the original structure to be shut off until one additional floor is completed.

Administrators are considering using the sixth floor of Lerner Hall, the interior of which is still unfinished, as a temporary space for displaced exercise equipment. Kasdin said that the administration is "taking those [space] needs very seriously and trying to come up with alternate sites for everything."

The idea of placing a science building above Dodge Fitness Center predates even the earliest discussions of Manhattanville expansion. Though the plan was first seriously addressed the 1990s by former University President George Rupp, a set of 1974 schematics of the fitness center shows a theoretical expansion tower resting on top of the current structure.

According to Marcelo Velez, associate vice president of Capital Project Management, Dodge Fitness Center was intentionally designed with four large columns spanning the Levien Gym, which are strong enough to support a structure on par with neighboring Pupin Hall.

Velez said that while final plans are still forthcoming, the building will likely include about 150,000 square feet of floor space, an street-level entrance, and possible connections to Pupin and Chandler Hall labs.

Since the September announcement, administrators have also made efforts to publicize the design process to area residents. University representatives presented the project and pre-schematic designs this spring at two separate Community Board 9 meetings.