OMA: milstein hall - nearing completion

'milstein hall cornell university' by OMA in ithaca, new york, USA
all images courtesy cornell / AAP
image © william staffield


'milstein hall', the first new building for the cornell university college of architecture, art,
and planning (AAP), has celebrated its grand opening in ithaca, new york, USA.
designed by internationally-recognized architecture practice OMA, the 14,000 m2
educational complex spatially connects the originally fragmented area between four existing
buildings with an elevated horizontal plate outfitted with floor-to-ceiling glass.



exterior view during construction
image © william staffield


inserted into the interstitial space between rand, sibley, the foundrys and tjaden hall,
the new facility focuses on the stimulating the interaction of programs while allowing
flexibility over time. the operation and activities of the buildings is made transparent on
the ground level by an angled glass facade which overlooks the sunken in 282-seat auditorium.
manipulations of the floor plate resulted in a hill-like bulge that caters to a number of programs:
the computer labs and meeting areas are housed under the curved form while the seats of
the auditorium follow the natural incline of the structure; a portion of the hill penetrates out
into the exterior, providing a playful communal space complete with pod-like LED stools,
while the peak that punctures the upper plate provides an access point to the rest of the building.



face during installation
image © william staffield


the higher level of the new hall provides an open layout for studios and work space.
wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glazing, the interior benefits from a generous amount of natural
daylight. a grid of skylights on the green roof further facilitates sunlight into the studios.

stay tuned for photographs of the completed building soon.



under the elevated volume
image © william staffield



views of stairwell
images © william staffield



studio level wrapping around existing hall 
image © william staffield



floor-to-ceiling window
image © william staffield



studio space
image © william staffield



(left) up to street level
(right) auditorium
images © william staffield



seating
image © william staffield



peak of the bulge from studio level
image © william staffield



lifted up floor plate with a view into the lower level
image © william staffield



staircase in basement
image © william staffield



image © william staffield



exterior bulge
image © william staffield



LED pods during installation
image © william staffield



planting the green roof
image © william staffield



roof lights
image © william staffield






physical model



view from the gorge



level -1



level 0



level +1



roof level



rendered fly-by view



street view






exterior view from street level



exterior meeting space



view into auditorium



interior view of staircase up to studio level



section



section


project info:

partners in charge: rem koolhaas, shohei shigematsu
associate in charge: ziad shehab
team: jason long, michael smith, troy schaum, charles bermean,
amparo casani, noah shepherd, alasdair graham, torsten schroeder,
joshua beck, erica goetz, margaret arbanas, matthew seidel,
tsuyoshi nakamoto, ritchie tao, konrad krupinski, kengo skorick,
martin schliefer, marcin ganczarski, tanner merkeley, konstantin august,
klaas kresse, mathieu de paepe, suzanna waldron, daphna glaubert,
beatriz minquez de molina, jesse seegers, james davies, esa rustkeepaa,
daniel gerber, paul georgeadis, julianna gola, betty ng, michael jefferson

collaborators:
executive architect: KHA architects, LLC
structural engineer: robert silman associates
MEP engineer: plus group consulting engineering
engineering servies: gryphon international
facade design and engineering consultant: front, inc.
acoustical consultant: DHV VB
elevator consultant: persohn/hahn associates
IT/data/security consultant: archi-technology
lighting consultant: tillotson design associates, inc.
audio/visual consultant: acentech
roofing consultant: BPD roof consulting, inc.
sustainability consultant: BVM engineering
models: OMA / model en objekt / made by mistake