Recognizing the critical need to accommodate its growing academic programs, NYU engaged Davis Brody Bond and KieranTimberlake to replace its one-story Coles Sports Center with a new mixed-use development to hold a diverse array of performing arts programs, rehearsal studios, and performance venues, as well as first-year student and faculty housing. Spacesmith designed and selected all the furnishings for the 735,000 sf building. In addition to the functional and aesthetic aspects, our team was tasked with specifying furniture with low emitting materials and third party testing in order to assist with LEED certification. 

Photo credit: Connie Zhou / JBSA

The LEED Gold John A. Paulson Center is a 735,000 sq. ft. mixed-use
academic building that sets a new paradigm for multi-use university
facilities. The new building embodies the vibrancy and character of New
York University, while offering new ways to engage, learn, work, play, and
live. Designed to optimize interactions between diverse student groups and
academic disciplines, the building includes classrooms; performing arts
theaters, teaching, rehearsal, and practice rooms; athletic facilities for
varsity sports and recreation; and housing for students and faculty. Each of
these spaces is organized into unique “neighborhoods” connected by an
expansive Commons that provides collaborative gathering spaces. The
building is a complex choreography of user desires, program, technology,
climate considerations, and community input. Design strategies and goals
for the building were established through an iterative process beginning
with visioning and programming discussions with a wide range of
stakeholders in the community and University. The exterior is as functional
as it is dynamic. Designed to consider program, solar heat gain, bird
strikes, acoustics, and privacy, the building’s facades create an interplay
of layers and textures.