Farmingdale State College, New School of Business

Farmingdale, New York

Firm

Urbahn Architects

Client

NY State University Construction Fund

Area

44,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$21,500,000

Completion Date

03/2015

Associated Firms: Vanderweil Engineers (MEP Engineering), Consulting Engineers Collaborative (Structural Engineering), Domingo Gonzalez Associates (Lighting Design), BET Consultants (Civil Engineering), Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects (Landscape Architecture), Matrix New World Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), Ellana (Cost Estimating)

Urbahn’s design reflects Farmingdale State College’s preferences in pedagogy, planning, maintenance and operations. The facility provides state-of-the-art classrooms for the growing campus. Much of the design was driven by the college’s investment in promoting student/faculty interaction.
The large first-floor classrooms are tiered on each side around a central teaching area to foster face-to-face interaction. Smaller classrooms were designed as reconfigurable collaborative spaces. Professors’ offices are situated directly across the corridor from classrooms, and wired mini-lounges peppered throughout the building provide venues for the conversation to continue beyond the classroom. Treetop-level quiet lounges provide an oasis for contemplation.
Tiered seating in the lively three-story atrium lobby provides another opportunity to promote interaction and also serves as a reception area for industry events. The atrium’s glazed façade visually connects the interior to the academic mall defined by the building. The exterior materials draw from the brick, cast stone and iridescent slate palette of the historic campus buildings. Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, the three-story building brings a new energy to the academic core of campus.