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Architecture And Design
New York

One of NYC’s boldest new buildings nears completion

The Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler-designed tower will open in August

Columbia University Medical College's new Graduate and Education Building in Washington Heights (photo credit: Field Condition)
Columbia University Medical College's new Graduate and Education Building in Washington Heights (photo credit: Field Condition)

Love it or hate it, one of the funkiest new buildings in NYC is almost complete.

Construction is wrapping up at Columbia University Medical College’s new Graduate and Education Building in Washington Heights, according to Field Condition.

The Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler-designed tower was dedicated on June 9 and will open in August. Recently renamed the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, the 14-story building’s bold architecture is already attracting sneers.

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Columbia University Medical College's new Graduate and Education Building in Washington Heights (photo credit: Field Condition)

Columbia University Medical College’s new Graduate and Education Building in Washington Heights (photo credit: Field Condition)

The Real Deal’s architectural critic, James Gardner, recently visited the site and found that the building differed quite a bit from its rather promising renderings.

“The spirit and vibrancy of the drawing have vanished. The wrenching irregularities, which were so compelling in the rendering, now look tame and forced. The dreary, step-by-step accumulation of beams and infill and curtain walls carries over none of the disruptive liveliness that justified and made tolerable the formal liberties that the design took,” Gardner wrote. Read his full review here. [Field Condition] –Christopher Cameron

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Architecture And DesignDiller Scofidio RenfroWashington Heights