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600 W. 125th Street

Columbia University, Manhattanville Campus


Renzo Piano Building Workshop (2019 - Present)
New York, New York


Photograph of North Facade
Photograph of North Facade


Commission: to design a new building for graduate student and faculty housing


Project Status

Complete

Press Release

Columbia University ︎︎︎
RPBW ︎︎︎
600 W 125th is the latest addition to the Manhattanville Campus, Columbia University’s vision for a 21st century campus integrated into the fabric of New York City. The project builds on key characteristics of this master plan including a transparent and inviting ground plane known as the Urban Layer, a refined industrial material palette informed by the context, and a high benchmark for sustainability.
Housing graduate students and faculty apartments, 600 W 125th adds a critical programmatic ingredient to the existing academic facilities. By providing places to live, the project meaningfully adds to the new campus’ center of gravity and creates a 24/7 vibrancy. The 34-story building becomes a natural beacon for Manhattanville Campus, announcing its presence to the nearby Morningside Campus and broader urban context of New York. 
Responsibility
  • Project Manager
  • Schematic Design through Construction Administration (All Phases)


Design Team
Design Architect
  • Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Architect of Record
  • Cetra Ruddy Architecture
Consultants
  • LERA (Structure)
  • AKF (MEP)
  • VDA (Vertical Transportation)
  • Atelier Ten (Sustainability)
  • ARUP (Acoustics)
  • Syska Hennessey (IT/Security/AV)
  • Langan (Civil)
  • Mueser Rutledge (Geotechnical)
  • Tollotson Design (Lighting)
  • Kuhlmann Leavitt (Signage)
  • Elizabeth Kennedy (Landscaping)




Perspective Rendering, Aerial View Perspective Rendering, Aerial View Perspective Rendering, Street View Campus Section


The project houses 142 graduate and faculty student apartments over approximately 184,000 GSF, reaching a height of approximately 400’. From the outset, it was clear that the project massing should be as sensitive as possible to the surrounding context. The new building breathes, leaving spaces in-between and allowing for a porosity of light and air with the surrounding neighborhood. At the street level, the building is elevated on slender columns to create a feeling of lightness and floating above the public realm. Upon this sits the podium, a five-story element that defines the street wall and creates a gateway into the campus from the southeast by mirroring the Forum facade across the street. From here, the tower steps back and fragments further in plan and in elevation as it rises according to the sky exposure plan, floorplate organization, and the desire to reduce the visual impact and the shadow of the tower within the neighborhood.


Photograph from North West Photograph from South East East Facade Close Up

This fragmentation continues with vertical notches that cut through the facades. The top of the tower is a rhythmic composition using the building systems as vocabulary. In the end, the project’s north-south orientation and its east-west shape maximize the views for residents towards the Hudson River to the West and the East River, at the same time mitigating the tower’s presence from Broadway.
The facade is clad in Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC), pigmented a subtle blue-grey and polished to a reflective sheen. This material choice creates a luminous skin that, at certain times, makes the building appear to dissolve into the sky. The scale is reduced through smaller GFRC panels with curved corners and rhythmic vertical ribs that capture the sun's movement.


Photograph from North Photograph from South East Photograph from West Photograph from East


Facade Studies
Facade Studies
Detail Photograph from South EastDetail Photograph from South East


The ground floor reincorporates the previous McDonald's as a corner tenant. Tucked to the west, the lobby's vibrant orange accent walls are part of a dynamic wayfinding system throughout public areas. Levels 2 and 6 feature amenity lounges, a fitness center, and laundry facilities, all connected to terraces with greenery. The 33rd floor, Columbia’s tallest common space, hosts a double-height library offering contemplative views in every direction.


Street Facade Photograph Level 6 Amenity Terrace Level 33 Amenity Lounge Faculty Apartment


In continuing the ambitious sustainability goals of the Manhattanville Campus, 600 W 125th Street is currently tracking certification of LEED v4.0 gold with notable features includes a high-performance façade with approximately 60% opacity, optimized equipment efficiency, limited gas usage to achieve long-term carbon emissions reductions, enhanced Clean Construction program, vegetated roofs and stormwater detention. The project is also pursuing Fitwel Version 2.1 Multifamily rating, with a target of 2 stars, reflecting the building’s responsibility toward occupant health and well being in addition to environmental stewardship.


Photograph from North West
Photograph from North West


With the completion of 600 W 125th Street, the Columbia Manhattanville campus principles of lightness, transparency, contextual sensitivity, and sustainability are infused with a new vitality of residential life. The project is more than a beacon for the new campus; it's a place designed to truly connect future faculty and graduate students to their academic purpose and the urban life around them.






Professional Projects

Architect, Artist, Writer


Architect, Artist, Writer