STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK - PURCHASE COLLEGE Student Center Purchase, New York
Located just north of New York City, PurchaseCollege, a branch of the State University of New York is known for its high quality Fine Arts and the Performing Arts programs. The college’s first campus building, dating back to 1975, required much-needed improvements. Later surrounded by the work of Robert Venturi, Phillip Johnson, and Charles Gwathmey, the 24,000-square-foot steel Butler building is now used as the StudentCenter. Phase One involved replacing the exterior skin of the building including windows and metal siding. Phase Two involved code-required interior modifications to meet current life safety and accessibility requirements and related facility modifications. We prepared a number of design options and the selected the option that “looked most like a new building.” On the exterior, improvements include light monitors with clerestory windows that add volume to the roof and more daylight to the interior, while recalling the skylights on the nearby Art Studio building. Although the college initially suggested cladding the student center with brick used on all the other campus buildings, the approved design features exterior walls with bands of green and gray copper cladding, alternating with areas for student art displays. Windows have been enlarged or deleted, depending on interior use. New porches and new signage better define the main entrance. On the interior, improvements include daylighting the central core from above, and reconfiguring some partitions to improve exiting and handicapped accessibility.
Daniel Frankfort PC Architect of Record, led by Charles Belson, AIA, Principal for EwingCole
