The Rockefeller University The Stavros Niarchos Foundation – David Rockefeller River Campus

The Rockefeller University Stavros Niarchos Foundation–David Rockefeller River Campus provides large, flexible laboratory spaces, extends the 120-year-old campus’ historic gardens, maximizes vistas, connects with existing research buildings, and centralizes community amenities on a new landscaped platform that sits 16 feet over one of Manhattan’s major arterial waterfront highways. The campus building extension is discreetly sited so as to be invisible from the University’s main entrance and historic campus walks. Its presence marked only by two grand public stairways that extend the landmark gardens from the main campus walk up to two new acres of gardens overlooking Manhattan’s East River. The pedestrian-oriented gardens provide healthy outdoor respite for the campus community and serve as the access to campus amenities: a new dining commons, a new conference center, and centralized offices for the University’s senior leadership. Each expresses an individual identity as pavilions within a garden. The research facility occupies two open floors of contiguous laboratory space, each approximately 1,000 feet long and 105 feet deep. Each floor is bisected by a large collaborative zone with kitchen and dining facilities. A collaborative space captures River views to the east and looks west across a new amphitheater to the historic limestone façade of an existing University building. At grade, between the building and the East River, the project provides a fully rebuilt and landscaped linear public park that is open to the community and maintained by the University. It is actively used throughout the day by cyclists, joggers, sightseers, and pedestrians.