2013, Jan–
The site is a steeply sloping triangle just south of the main entrance to the Manhattan College campus. It occupies a prominent location at a bend in Manhattan College Parkway and the building’s design acknowledges that by featuring a dramatic glass stair enclosure that will be seen by vehicles and pedestrians traveling down the Parkway. The project is a five story building of approximately 70,000 gross SF. The structural system will primarily be flat plate concrete with a long span steel structure over an assembly space at the top floor. The site features an existing stone retaining wall along the west property line at Waldo Avenue. The intent is to stabilize that wall with a new secant pile wall at its base prior to the execution of excavation and foundation work. Foundations will consist of a combination of drilled piles into rock, and spread footings bearing on the glacial till stratum.The first floor will contain food service venues and re- lated seating, along with a loading dock off the parking lot and mechanical and storage rooms. The seating area will be connected up to a large lounge area on the second level by means of open stairs. In addition to the lounge area, the second level will contain the college store, a suite of offices, and the main building entry at the north end. The third floor contains a fitness center with locker rooms along with a suite of offices and meeting rooms. The fourth floor contains a commercial kitchen adjacent to the faculty dining room. The faculty dining room is adjacent to two meeting rooms with movable partitions to create a flexible space for one large function or multiple smaller functions. The fourth floor also contains a suite of student activity offices and work rooms. The fifth floor is taken up mostly by a large assembly space with a capacity of 700 that can be subdivided into three smaller spaces by Skyfold partitions. The balance of that floor is taken up with support spaces (furniture storage, toilets, and pantry).Because the best views are to the east, the building east walls will consist mostly of glass. Measures will be taken to minimize heat gain and glare. The south and west facades of the building will generally be more traditional masonry with punched openings to relate both to adjacent residential buildings and the tradiitional architecture of the main campus.The proposed design is based on the following ideas and principles:a. Encouraging circulation through the building. The building is located on a prime pedestrian route connecting the main campus to the College’s facilities to the south. We are providing inviting entrances at the south end of the lowest level of the building and theView from Waldo Avenue looking at North Entrancenorth end at the next level up, both of which are grade level conditions due to the sloping site. Upon entering at the lower level one walks through a large comfort- ably furnished lounge area adjacent to food service venues. Two open interior stairways lead to the upper level and another large lounge with sweeping views out over the athletic field as well as the spectacular main entrance to the building. The second level also features the college store. It is anticipated that many students and faculty will choose to move on this path through the building rather than use the path that will be maintained outside the building. Manhattan College also welcomes the possibility that residents of the neighborhood may also use the circulation route de- scribed and take advantage of the store and food opportunities on their way to the subway. b. Taking advantage of views to the east and maintain- ing a quieter, more enclosed feeling on the west. The main interior spaces all feature views to the east out over the athletic field toward Van Cortlandt Park beyond via a glass curtain wall. The west elevation faces the residential buildings across the street. The west façade will be a relatively traditional façade of brick and punched windows in an effort to accommodate the sensitivities of the neighbors. Also, most exterior foot traffic will occur along the east face of the build- ing, screened from the residential neighborhood by the bulk of the new building. The truck dock and some of the parking will also work off of the southeast corner of the site which is more of a mixed residential and light industrial area than the purely residential neighbor- hood to the west.c. The building is intended to be environmentally friendly and is being designed with a minimum target of LEED Silver certification and will have a green roof.d. A large stair leading to the upper floor from the main entrance is located in a glass enclosure. The goal is to make ascending the stair into an exciting experience and thereby encourage people to use the stair rather than use the elevators.