A green facility in the heart of New York

The New School University Center

New York, USA

Completed in 2014, The New School University Center is a multipurpose education facility that has consolidated academic programs in art and design, environmental studies and sustainability management within one iconic structure.

The 375,000ft² facility houses design studios, interdisciplinary classrooms, an 800-seat auditorium, a library, a resource center, student lounges and cafes, retail space, and a 600-bed dormitory.

Challenge

The main challenge on this project was that The New School had committed to reducing campus carbon emissions by 30% by 2017, in order to meet and support the wider aims of New York City’s PlaNYC sustainability program.

Solution

With extensive experience in energy planning, modeling and assessment, Buro Happold was employed to assist in creating a highly efficient design for the new University Center that would meet this ambitious target. Our engineers advised and helped incorporate a number of sustainable initiatives into the design. The use of daylight to illuminate interior spaces is maximized, and supplemented as necessary with state of the art, superefficient LED lighting.

Our team also devised an innovative water reduction system that employs both greywater and blackwater treatments to recycle water across the center, reducing the university’s potable water consumption by 74%. The inclusion of a 265 kilowatt cogeneration plant – which uses natural gas to generate electricity, and also recovers thermal energy for use in heating water – allows 40% of the building’s electrical energy to be generated on site. In addition, sustainably sourced materials were used wherever possible.

Value

The result is an education facility that meets our client’s high aspirations for sustainability, connectivity and performance. As well as achieving 31.5% energy savings over a base case school, the University Center has gained LEED Gold certification, and has set the standard for green technology and building practices in New York City.