OMA- Milstein Hall at Cornell awarded LEED gold

26 June
Milstein Hall at Cornell awarded LEED gold certification

Milstein Hall, OMA's extension of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) at Cornell, has been awarded LEED Gold Certification. The award recognizes the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings in the United States.

Opened in August 2011, Milstein Hall is the first new building in over 100 years for the renowned College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Led by OMA partner, Shohei Shigematsu who directs the New York City office, and Rem Koolhaas, Milstein Hall provides 47,000 additional square feet for the AAP, adding much-needed space for studios, gallery space, critique space and a 253-seat auditorium.

In the upper level studios, a field of custom designed lights and "chilled beams" are carefully coordinated with the structural and mechanical systems - normally hidden functional elements define the ceiling plane. The lighting is programmed by the highly efficient Lutron system, connected to daylight sensors to balance daylight with artificial light. The studio's climate is maintained by the ceiling's chilled beams, which draw cool water from a local lake, reducing the need for large traditional HVAC mechanical systems. Heating comes through the concrete slab floor. Together these two systems provide a more efficient, cleaner and comfortable controlled environment. Fifty-seven percent of the exterior walls of the three-story building are floor-to-ceiling high-performance insulated glass, allowing abundant daylight to illuminate the studios, critique rooms, exhibition space and auditorium.

The 24,000 square-foot roof is a sedum-covered green-roof punctuated by a cluster of north facing skylights that gradually increase in size to draw more daylight to the center of the deep plate further from the exterior façade. Two different types of sedum create a gradient pattern of dots that transition from small circles near the Arts Quad on the south to a dense, larger pattern of dots towards the natural landscape of the gorge to the north. Viewed from surrounding buildings, sustainability can be seen as an integrated building design feature within the campus and not merely a requirement placed on top of the building.

The interiors are designed to minimize the need for finishes. Material use was reduced by integrating the building systems with structure: concrete foundation walls are exposed, structural steel and glass are expressed visibly. Each element serves as a learning tool for the architecture students.