DESIGN INSPIRATION
Part of the college's goal is to create common spaces that foster spontaneous interaction. Another goal is for the building to be representative of Barnard's ties to New York City and its surrounding neighborhood.
Architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi took a contextual approach when formulating their design of the Nexus. Not content to focus solely on the inside details, they gave consideration as to how the Nexus would integrate into the campus as well as the Broadway streetscape.
"Each Weiss/Manfredi project is pursued as a thoughtful investigation into the relationship between site and structure. 'We reject standard paradigms,' Weiss says. 'The relationship getween building and site is inextricable'"
- "Site Specific," Metropolis, Feb. 2004
These considerations resulted in a modified structure providing good sight lines along campus and through the building (see diagram below) as well as terraced green spaces to foster gathering spaces inside as well as out.
"'We think of the building as a series of descending gardens,' says Weiss, who explained how a stepped landscape would be 'excavated' through the seven-story structure to bring light and views throughout its interior." ibid.
At the top the garden idea is continued with a green roof that provides additional event and lawn space as well as incorporating sustainable design elements.
The glass "curtain wall" further provides a friendly facade along Broadway, providing views into and through the building to the campus. As the new home to many of Barnard's public events - dance and theatre productions, conferences, seminars, and more - it is crucial that the Nexus be an inviting presence.
In her introductory remarks for "In Process" presented by the Architectural League of New York, Marion Weiss stated that:
Barnard is truly a unique college in an oasis like setting; bringing together a strong liberal arts college, an important research institution, the advantages of a women's college in a world class city.
This project captures for us Barnard's intensely rich cultural and intellectual life that extends well beyond the lecture halls and classrooms.
Both Michael and I teach and are keenly sensitive to settings that can foster interaction and community as well as those that can hinder such interaction.