The seven-story, 68,000-square-foot Columbia University School of Nursing is a state-of-the-art educational facility at the Columbia University Medical Center campus in upper Manhattan. The design focuses on creating a bright, welcoming pavilion that anchors the Medical Center campus and offers students meaningful social connections internally while opening outwards to the neighboring community. The building resulted from an invited design competition, and provides 65 percent more space than the school’s former location. Densely programmed to alternate educational areas with spaces for community outreach, the building accommodates various styles of teaching and learning with specialized functions—innovative simulation technology, research facilities, and student and faculty spaces—that reinforce the school’s mission and pedagogy, resulting in an environment that facilitates collaboration, interaction, and clinical excellence.

Columbia University School of Nursingis LEED Gold certified. Sustainable features include high-performance exterior wall and bird-safe glazing on windows, daylight dimming in common areas, and high-efficiency HVAC systems. The building features charging stations for electric vehicles, bicycle storage and showers, and a publically accessible green roof with medicinal garden and reflexology pavers.

CO|FXCollaborative (CO Architects in Los Angeles and FXCollaborative in New York City) is a dynamic alliance of two architecture firms built on a shared dedication to collaboration in process, innovation in programming, and excellence in design. It is a collective commitment to use these tools to examine fundamental notions of place, community, and sustainability, and to advance the understanding of architecture’s relationship to the human experience. Combining forces mines the two firm’s depth of experience and expertise to build a strong team ready to address the challenges of creating meaningful architecture in a complex world.