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Under Construction> Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Columbia University Medical and Graduate Education Building

Under Construction> Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Columbia University Medical and Graduate Education Building

When an under-construction project is just a skeleton of its future self, its nearly impossible to gauge the impact of the finished product. Sure, you’ve got renderings, but as AN has covered before, those are usually chock full of visual embellishments like dramatic sunsets, hot air balloons, and so. many. kayaks. So while it’s probably best to reserve judgment on Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Columbia University Medical and Graduate Education Building until it opens in 2016, let’s just call a spade a spade right now: this thing is going to be a very dramatic, very zigzag-y addition to Washington Heights.

Prolific construction-watcher and photographer, Field Condition, recently visited the 14-story tower which is currently a concrete structure unlike any other. Behind orange construction nets are dramatic, angular cuts that will form the building’s “Study Cascade,” a staircase that runs the height of the building and carves out social spaces for students and professors.

With the building topped out, the structure’s glass curtain wall is starting to be installed. “The panels consist of a single pane of full floor-height glass, much like those used on the recent World Trade Center and Hudson Yards towers,” wrote Field Condition. “Vertical stripes of white frit have been applied in a gradient pattern to create zones of differing amounts of opacity.” Exciting stuff. Gensler is serving as the executive architect for this project.


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