News: SOM unveiling Cornell Campus Proposal

SOM recently revealed its proposal for the Cornell's Campus, implanted in Roosevelt Island which will host 2,500 students.
The goal of this design is to propose a place of work and research based on collaboration, productivity and creativity needs of the students.
Three major axes motivate this proposal based on a flexible open plan: hubs, sustainability, green features.

Cornell Campus Proposal — Rendering, © SOM. Originally appeared on International Business Times.

Hubs
The Cornell Campus will be composed of hubs rather than a complex of closed-off silos: a healthy hub, gathering biomedical and engineering fields, and mobile social hub integrating mobile technology and social marketing studies. These hubs aside, the project will also include walkways, precisely lateral paths, between these hubs.
As views playing an important role in this proposal, interior and exterior paths are announced to be connected aiming at maximizing views for the occupants.

Cornell Campus © SOM.
—> The Cornell Campus will include a multi-story pedestrian network, indoor/outdoor connectivity between academic spaces, a half-million-square-feet of public
gardens and amphitheaters.

Sustainable approach
The second interesting part will be the sustainable approach allowing for energy efficiency, say, zero net energy. This system will be capable of producing as much as energy it consumes, Roger Duffy, a partner of Skidmore Owings & Merrill said. This will be possible with a research on the orientation of the building in relation to sun and to green features.
"You really have to design from the conceptual stage," confessed Colin Koop, an associate director at SOM. "When you have that kind of aggressive idea, you have to design your orientation of the campus around it."

Cornell Campus — Rendering: layout of the Campus, © SOM. Originally appeared on International Business Times.
—> "A 150,00-square-foot photovoltaic array that would be the largest in New York City, and an interactive
sustainability strategy that will boast one of the country's largest net-zero energy structures."

Apart from the zero net energy, the building will integrate not only photovoltaic panels whose function, obviously, will be to capture maximum of sunlight, but also underground geothermal that will help produce power. The layout below shows the articulation of the environmental strategy of SOM's proposal for the Cornell Campus. Radiant celing panels will be integrated to provide sensible cooling to users that will utilize the hydronic system. 

Cornell Campus — South orientation © SOM.

A displacement ventilation will allow for dedicated outside air at the floor level. Operable windows will provide warm air to reduce cooling loads. A congeneration plant will also be incorporated. The building will thus use the tidal energy from the East River.

Cornell Campus © SOM.

Landscape approach
The last part of this project concerns the courtyard and retail that will co-designed with Landscape architect James Corner Field Operations. This project will be composed of public space for pedestrian access. The accent will be put on the western side. A lush landscape made of trees, rain gardens will surround the building such as a park within the campus.

Cornell Campus © SOM.
—> The relation of the facilities and the landscape will particularly be well-represented by a large amount of
the site devoted to green features.

According to SOM:

This is a spectacularly rare opportunity to imagine a new campus from the ground up — and to do so in the heart of a great city. In terms of its urban design, architecture, landscape design and sustainable strategies, this campus will be an exemplar — a living, learning applied sciences community whose design supports and reflects the fundamental ideals of research and innovation.

Source: New York International Business Times.