Location: New York, NY
Client: CUNY Hunter College/The Brodsky Organization 
Architect: Joint Venture: Cooper, Robertson & Partners and SLCE Architects
Photo Credit: SLCE Architects

The new School of Social Work at Hunter College is an eight-story building on East 119th Street and Third Avenue in New York, NY. This 145,000 SF steel construction building is connected to the new CUNY graduate student housing on an adjacent lot by a shared outdoor plaza on the second floor.

The building is clad in both precast concrete panels and curtain walls. The paneled façade identifies the private classrooms and offices, while the mostly full-height glazing exterior on the first floor and assembly space provides transparency for a building whose main program emphasizes integration of the community. These spaces required the use of special bent beam framing and Fire-Trol columns which provide a structurally efficient design that complements the architect’s idea of openness.

The project was completed on time and under budget. The school opened in Fall 2011 with a construction cost of $79 million.