During the course of the study, we conducted extensive focus group meetings with each separate department and constituency within the school. Key issues addressed included current and projected uses of the building, anticipated changes to the curriculum and subsequent teaching methodologies in the school, and questions as to the nature of digital technology in journalism education and what role architecture can play in incorporating new technologies into the school’s curriculum.

A priority for the school was to provide as much flexibility as possible into future planning, since the school’s spatial needs would depend both on securing funding from donors and on changes to the curriculum that were being developed concurrent to the planning study. The study was structured to provide a series of planning scenarios that allow the school to move forward with renovations and development in a truly flexible way. These scenarios take into account short-term and long-term needs in the school, as well as significant alternate adjacencies for major programs within the school. The Toni Stabile Student Center was the first project developed from this Planning Study.

The design consists of four walls defining the space of the slide library and lit by the skylight above. The east wall is made up of 435 sandwiched layers of 1″ thick ultralight (lightweight mdf). Occasional viewing portals are formed by carved layers on opposite dies of the wall where two 1/2″ thick glass panels are inserted. The middle of the east wall curves into the space to capture light in the hall outside from a skylight above. The edges of the glass panels refract and glow from natural light. The north, south and west walls are patterned with 1/4″ perforated lines outlining the actual tooling paths for each of the layers of the east wall – these lines are illuminated by the light of the skylight in the slide library. As part of the rigor to digitally draw, fabricate and manage the entire project, every component of the design was milled regardless of its complexity to enable the walls to be assembled like furniture.

Architectural details are largely a product of the relationship of design to industry. If the modernist detail was based on negotiating tolerances (differences) between pre-manufactured, standardized building components through separate systems of fastening, today we are shifting to methods of production that are based on the management and organization of information, where details, tolerances, and assembly logics are numerically controlled and fully integrated during design. In this context, CNC (computer numerically controlled) systems bring the process of design closer to the production of buildings, merging them through a common language of information.

Flatform is a panel system of flat stock stainless steel components that are cut, scored, and folded to form details of assembly without external fasteners.  Facing panels are joined through the face of the opposite panel.  The surface geometry of each panel is parametrically linked to the characteristics of the tabs and is limited by the ability of the material to bend.  The composition and number of tabs can vary to address specific performance requirements.

The design provides office space, gallery, and state of the art video conferencing spaces for this exciting new component of NYU’s academic mission linking the two components of their Global Network University.  Material and detail strategies throughout the space were applied to create an effective collaborative working environment as well as a space to receive and meet with dignitaries and guests of the new campus. Millwork ceilings and wall panels were designed and fabricated using digital CNC processes in order to increase efficiency and control over the level of customization.

The scope of the renovation included an acoustically isolated videoconferencing suite, full upgrades to MEP infrastructure, and the selection and incorporation of furniture into the design. The entire project was modeled and all construction documents were generated using building information modeling software, dramatically streamlining the design and construction coordination process.

The site is located on the eastern side of Staten Island adjacent to the Staten Island Expressway and close to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The site itself is an empty lot across from the existing firehouse surrounded by streets of varying traffic densities.

The building is designed as a large shed – a simple volume with a straightforward approach to the building systems. The steel frame structure has a 16ft clearance that allows for the special vehicle exhaust system and mechanical and electrical equipment to be suspended from above while maintaining the required vehicle clearances. The walls of the building are concrete block with a perforated metal screen as the exterior finish material. The screen wall is designed to take advantage of the large amount of daylight the site receives – casting shadows onto the wall behind it and using the sun to dematerialize the screen so that the letters “FDNY” are legible to the surrounding context. The pattern of the screen wall varies in its opacity and openness as it moves around the building, becoming more open at the location of the clerestory windows and the views inside the apparatus floor on the south side of the building. The approach to the site plan includes surrounding the site with a perforated metal fence similar to the screen wall of the building to create a visual coherence to the entire site.