Vagelos Education Center

The Vagelos Education Center is a new, state-of-the-art medical and graduate education building at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

The building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Gensler as executive architect, is a 100,000-square-foot, 14-story glass tower that incorporates technologically advanced classrooms, collaboration spaces, and a modern simulation center to reflect how medicine is taught, learned, and practiced in the 21st century.

The design seeks to reshape the look and feel of the Medical Center, and to create spaces that facilitate the development of skills essential for modern medical practice.
“Space matters for structured and informal learning,” said Elizabeth Diller, founding partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. “To support Columbia’s progressive medical education program, we designed a building that will nurture collaboration. Its defining feature is the Study Cascade a 14-story network of vertically linked spaces in a variety of sizes, both focused and social, private and communal, indoors and out.”

DS+R’s design takes advantage of an incredible view of the Hudson River and the Palisades. The building also integrates a range of sustainable features—including locally sourced materials, green roof technologies, and an innovative mechanical system that minimizes energy and water use – and the faccade features ceramic “frit” patterns that are baked onto the exterior glass to diffuse sunlight.

Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center
Program: education center
Architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Executive architect: Gensler
Structural engineer: Leslie E. Robertson Associates
Landscape architect: SCAPE/Landscape Architecture
Gross floor area: 10220 smq
Completion: 2016