CUMC Breaks Ground for Medical and Graduate Education Building
Lee Goldman, MD, and Columbia President Lee Bollinger joined donors, faculty, and students in a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for construction of the CUMC Medical and Graduate Education Building.
Construction of the 14-story glass tower at 171st Street and Haven Avenue is scheduled to take approximately three years.
![CUMC Medical and Construction of CUMC's new Graduate Education Building has begun.](https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_200/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=kHVVxb3x 200w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_260/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=uV9R2rMg 260w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1600/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=A6EyOmcl 262w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_320/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=lveutJy1 320w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_400/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=0_Tyhiu1 400w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_520/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=z57KGfHr 520w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_640/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=ZK_0HSL8 640w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_800/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=vzer6j1t 800w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1040/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=JQ0M-wfn 1040w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1280/public/media/images/2020-02/screen-shot-2013-09-16-at-11.38.22-am.png?itok=nvGPRUI8 1280w)
Construction of the new Medical and Graduate Education Building is projected to last 32 months.
The building’s pioneering design, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, has been described as “eye-catching,” “a major landmark in the skyline of northern Manhattan,” and “unorthodox for a medical school… in its reflection of a new more collaborative, team-based mode of teaching.”
The opportunity to create a more vibrant and cohesive campus is being made possible by vital support from philanthropists Diana and P. Roy Vagelos, MD; Philip L. and Cheryl Milstein; and the Clyde and Helen Wu Family. Representatives from each family attended the ceremony along with Columbia Trustee Kenneth Forde, MD, and employees of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gensler, and the construction company, Sciame.
For more information about the building, visit “A Modern Home for Medical Education.”
Construction and building features:
- 100,000 square feet of high-tech classroom facilities
- Advanced center for immersive, simulation-based medical education
- Innovative learning spaces for both collaboration and quiet study
- Lounges, café, and student commons
- Space configuration that allows optimal daylight into classroom and public spaces
- Wide range of sustainable features, designed to obtain LEED Gold certification
- Clean building techniques, including air and dust mitigation, noise and pest monitoring, and waste management
- CUMC plans to use a unionized construction work force comprising at least 35 percent minority, women, and local trades people