Saint John’s University Health & Science Center - Queens, New York

A campus of over 34 buildings on more than 100 acres. The University offers a multi-discipled education from five distinct schools. Of these, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has embarked on a significant expansion of its curriculum. The new Health Science Center is a premier model for innovation in the delivery of healthcare education and learning. It will house all of the programs currently located in the existing Bartilucci Center.

This building is designed to promote community inside and out. By revolving around an interior multi-story social space.This “living room,” which we call the Commons, will act as the heart of the academic program and promote both planned and chance interactions between students and faculty. Outside the building, new plazas and terraces will tie directly into the campus walkway system and be populated with furniture, connecting this facility and academic program with the greater campus community.

Acting as an architectural mediator this new building sits between the residential and academic centers of the St. John’s campus. It needs to be a good neighbor in both worlds. In the academic heart of the campus, it acts as one small part of a larger ensemble to positively shape and define the physical space of the Great Lawn. As such, its architectural character is quieter in respect to the more traditional campus buildings, specifically St. Augustine and St. John Hall. It takes on a more sculptural and colorful personality when facing the residential precinct.