New York Law School’s New Academic Building- New York, N.Y.
New York Law School, founded in 1891, has become an integral part of the fabric of TriBeCa, an already well-developed part of Manhattan. So when it decided to undergo an expansion program, space was going to be an issue.
To address that, Detroit-based SmithGroup, Inc. with BKSK Architects, New York, designed the school’s new 209,000-sq-ft academic building to fit into a tight L-shaped site, placing five stories above and four levels below grade to house classrooms – including Socratic-form classrooms that required custom-built tables – as well as a 300-seat auditorium, a library, dining spaces and learning, AV and computer labs. Above ground, the emphasis is on integration into the neighborhood and transparency, with stone and metal cladding and stainless steel at the base and a structural glazing system spanning the north facade. It was what lurked beneath that dictated the pace of the project, however.