Columbia University - Business School, Manhattanville Campus
New York City
Award of Merit
Submitted by: Turner Construction Co.
Owner: Columbia University
Lead Design Firm: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
General Contractor: Turner Construction Co.
Structural Engineer: ARUP
Subcontractors: Cives Steel Co.; W&W Glass; Curtis
Located on a 17-acre site, the two mid-rise structures create multifunctional spaces that foster a sense of community. Internal spaces are organized around intersecting networks of circulation and collaborative learning environments that extend vertically through each building. The combination of a month-long COVID-19 shutdown and construction activity on an active campus did not deter the team from delivering both buildings on schedule and at budget for the $600 million project. With a chiller plant, landscaping and other site improvements also underway, the team relied on daily huddles to coordinate. When construction resumed following the pandemic pause, the team needed more than one month to restore staffing levels. Resequenced activities allowed for more staggered schedules between trades, enabling the team to recover all time lost to the shutdown.
Another scheduling challenge arose during steel erection for the buildings when a sheared bolt put the tower crane out of service for nearly one month. Once the crane was repaired, the team worked additional shifts to recover lost time.