Diller Scofidio + Renfro creates Columbia Medical Centre

Two images of the exterior view of the new Medical Center for New York’s Columbia University. The modern building is flooded with light through panoramic, glass windows that surround the side of the building, through which we see staircases.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro has mastermind the design for a startling new Medical Center for New York’s Columbia University

(Image credit: TBC)

By Julie Baumgardner

last updated 14 August 2022

in News

Diller Scofidio + Renfro seems to be the architects du jour for Columbia University. Not only is it masterminding the lauded Business School; but first, its 14-storey, glass cascading Medical Center tower is unveiled just in time for the start of the fall semester.

The tower is both an education and graduate centre. After heavily weighed considerations taken on the part of the architects, says Elizabeth Diller, which worked in collaboration with the firm Gensler, the pristinely modern building is anchored to become the hub of medical student life at the university. According to Diller, the students were asked, 'Where they want to spend time?' Thus, the architects in turn created a 'building you don’t want to escape from'. The Center is flooded with light, exploiting 'views to the south, north and east, and a celebration of the site' and factoring state-of-the-art everything, including study sky lounges, like those of an arena or taller tower. Add in smart-glass ensconced common areas, and chances are the students won't ever want to leave.

While most medical students are trapped in residency rotation rounds or the fluorescent-dimmed aisles of the library, this new educational outpost is actually 'distinctly different', says Diller, who also points out that the typical medical educational facility tends to be boxy, low in height and clunky. 'This is a challenge of that,' she says. 'For the students, there is a correlation between space and learning.' And while the classrooms and learning spaces within the building offer the latest and best technological setups available, including flexible teaching spaces and a clinical simulation center, the 'heart of the building', in Diller’s eyes, is really the 10th floor student common area. When researching for the project, Diller came across an anatomy map of a snake, whose heart is in the middle of the body, which thus became the guiding principle behind the building’s logic – expressed through a snaking 'study cascade', which vertically links the interior spaces through the building's 14 floors.

Interior view of the new Medical Center for New York&rsquo;s Columbia University. Spacious atrium in white muted orange and reddish brown colors. Glass windows surround the area, and there is a staircase to the left that leads to the upper floors. — Both an education and graduate centre, the pristinely modern building is set to become the hub of medical student life at the university

Interior view of the new Medical Center for New York&rsquo;s Columbia University. Large, tall, and spacious conference room. Rows of seats in gray are to the left. It's surrounded by a glass wall that lets in a lot of light. — While most medical students are trapped in residency rotation rounds or the fluorescent-dimmed aisles of the library, this new educational outpost is actually ’distinctly different,’ says Elizabeth Diller

Interior view of the new Medical Center for New York&rsquo;s Columbia University. A room filled with medical equipment. On the far wall, there are panoramic windows that look out to the city. — The classrooms and learning spaces within the building offer the latest and best technological setups available, including flexible teaching spaces and a clinical simulation centre

Two images of the new Medical Center for New York&rsquo;s Columbia University. The first image shows the exterior of the building, the modern building is flooded with light through panoramic, glass windows that surround the side of the building, through which we see staircases and classrooms. The image to the right shows the interior, we see a staircase and people walking on it. — When researching for the project, Diller came across an anatomy map of a snake, whose heart is in the middle of the body, which thus became the guiding principle behind the building’s logic – expressed through a snaking ’study cascade’, which vertically links the interior spaces through the buildings 14 floors

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For more information, visit the Diller Scofidio + Renfro website

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Julie Baumgardner is an arts and culture writer, editor and journalist who's spent nearly 15 years covering all aspects of art, design, culture and travel. Julie's work has appeared in publications including Bloomberg, Cultured, Financial Times, New York magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, as well as Wallpaper*. She has also been interviewed for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald, Observer, Vox, USA Today, as well as worked on publications with Rizzoli press and spoken at art fairs and conferences in the US, Middle East and Asia. Find her @juliewithab or juliebaumgardnerwriter.com