Firm completes university projects.

Stephen Yablon Architect recently completed three new projects for Columbia University.

Under the direction of Stephen Yablon AIA, Principal, and Dawn Thompson, Associate, the firm has just finished offices, classrooms and a lecture hall for an academic department, a dormitory renovation, and a planning and feasibility study for a newly acquired building.

For the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, a high-tech lecture hall that includes state-of-the-art audiovisual systems, lighting, and acoustics forms the centerpiece of the expansion and renovation of existing departmental space.

The project, located in Mudd Hall at 500 West 120th Street, included the design of new computer labs, seminar rooms and faculty offices. "The sleek design of the lecture hall is appropriate for a department whose primary subject is the design of industrial processes. The success of the project required careful coordination between our office, the audiovisual consultant, the user group, and the university's facility department", stated Stephen Yablon AIA, principal-in-charge of the project

For McBain Hall, an undergraduate residence hall in a pre-war building at 562 West 113th Street, SYA created an open lounge that serves as a focal point for social gatherings in a new suite of dormitory rooms. The design accommodates a mix of single and double rooms and accessible bathroom facilities. SYA has recently been retained to assist the University with additional renovations throughout the eight-story residential building.

SYA also provided Columbia with a planning and feasibility design study to determine the best use of Knox Hall, a newly acquired six-story 46,000 square foot Gothic revival building at 606 West 122nd Street. This highly detailed study involved code and zoning studies, schematic design and mechanical plans, and cost estimating for academic, faculty housing, graduate apartments, and administrative uses. The study was presented to the President's Office and the University Board of Trustees and final use is now under evaluation.

SYA is a full service Manhattan-based architecture firm that has achieved an impressive reputation for the design of complex institutional buildings, workplaces, and residential projects. In addition to Columbia University, SYA's clients include New York University, Sony Music Entertainment, Cooper, Robertson & Partners, Angelo, Gordon LLP, AFD Contract Furniture, the New York City Housing Authority, and Vera Institute of Justice.