Cornell University's West Campus is dominated by early twentieth century Collegiate Gothic residence halls designed by Day & Klauder Architects. Known on campus as 'the Gothics,' these buildings are read as a wall, a gateway and a transition to the West Campus community. Clad in locally quarried stone, slate roofs, limestone window surrounds, and copper trims and flashings, they present an imposing and permanent face to West Campus and the campus beyond to the east. It is within this context that the plan for the West Campus Residential Initiative (WCRI) was developed to replace the 50-year-old red brick dormitories. The new plan provides housing for 1,250 undergraduate students in five college houses; the project illustrated is the first phase completed. The new buildings are designed as an extension of both the existing gothic complex and of the landscape. Whereas the majority of the existing building complex is oriented north-south, the new buildings are irregularly formed 'fingers' roughly oriented east-west against the slope, using the Gothics as a foil or foreground from the campus at-large. The sinuous forms define green spaces associated with each house, while maximizing daylight on the site.
Cornell University's West Campus is dominated by early twentieth century Collegiate Gothic residence halls designed by Day & Klauder Architects. Known on campus as 'the Gothics,' these buildings are read as a wall, a gateway and a transition to the West Campus community. Clad in locally quarried stone, slate roofs, limestone window surrounds, and copper trims and flashings, they present an imposing and permanent face to West Campus and the campus beyond to the east. It is within this context that the plan for the West Campus Residential Initiative (WCRI) was developed to replace the 50-year-old red brick dormitories. The new plan provides housing for 1,250 undergraduate students in five college houses; the project illustrated is the first phase completed. The new buildings are designed as an extension of both the existing gothic complex and of the landscape. Whereas the majority of the existing building complex is oriented north-south, the new buildings are irregularly formed 'fingers' roughly oriented east-west against the slope, using the Gothics as a foil or foreground from the campus at-large. The sinuous forms define green spaces associated with each house, while maximizing daylight on the site.
The design team understood that architectural compatibility with the existing residential buildings on West Campus was of utmost importance to the University. It was known that stone in the quantity and color to match the Gothics was not available, nor achievable in regard to budget. The essential characteristics of the stone were studied: scale and pattern of the units, texture, and the ranges of value and hue. The result of the research for a material appropriate within this context was a Belden Brick called Ebony Black, a smooth brick that reveals a surprising range of hue, value and texture when infused with natural light. To achieve the range in scale, texture and patterning of the stone, the architects developed a variegated brick pattern, a collection of five different engineered brick sizes ranging from 4 x 8 inches to 8 x 16 inches. The architects view the lighter stone deployed on the Gothics as a foreground material. Conceptually, creating buildings with a darker value helps to reduce their mass and their scale; in relationship with buildings that are dimensionally 10 to 15% smaller than modern programs this strategic choice helps to create some parity. In evaluating the range of values within original stone, the darkest value in the stone - one that contains magentas, blues, and taupes - in contrast to the lighter stone, was chosen. Other materials complete the palette, forming in totality the 'Cornell Bond.' Three granites were utilized for durability, weathering and range of color - black and two reds. Slate shingles were utilized on the building 'tips'; saw-cut and hung vertically. Lead-coated copper was employed as trim, flashing on the roof parapets and walls. The 'Cornell Bond' represents a deferential, rather than referential, deployment of materials, symbolically linking new to old - new history to old history, new materials to old materials.
The USGBC awarded Alice H. Cook House LEED Certification, making the project Cornell University's first building to receive such recognition.
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