● SPACESMITH
Architects alter composition of chemistry lab
Spacesmith has transformed a former chemistry library into much-needed classroom space for Chandler Hall, a 1928 facility at Columbia University housing the school’s Department of Chemistry.
The transformation presents a flexible design meeting demands of the modern-day classroom.
Adjacent spaces on the floor below were also renovated to house several relocated private and shared offices.
The newly renovated academic areas total about 6,500 s/f and include enhanced acoustics ideal for verbal presentations; technical capabilities to support digital presentations and teleconferencing; spaces that can adapt to diverse student needs and allow for collaboration.
In order to make this classroom space inclusive, two smaller rooms were designed as dedicated testing areas for students with documented disabilities. This provides students with a more intimate, quiet work area that offers significant natural light.
Two larger rooms are utilized for classes and lecture halls, featuring rows of fixed table systems with seats that are able to rotate 180 degrees so that students can easily collaborate when needed.
The largest lecture room, able to hold 125 students, provides ADA accessible seating throughout, as well as state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment.
“We are seeing with our clients that classrooms are assigned to a multitude of departments and professors,” saidarchitect Will Wong AIA, LEED AP, an associate with Spacesmith
“Instead of the traditional professor dictating the content scenario, we are seeing collaborative group work environments that require mobile, adjustable furniture, and private spaces for students to huddle together.”
● KIMMERLE GROUP
HQ relocation complete
Kimmerle Group has helpd Plymouth Rock Management Company in its relocation to a new headquarters in New Jersey.
Kimmerle assisted Plymouth Rock to identify the right location as well as to manage the full design and build-out of the 125,000 s/f headquarters space in Woodbridge, NJ.
Kimmerle Group’s project management and architecture teams provided coordination and oversight of the project in addition to design and architecture from the project’s inception through opening.
The firm’s design team was tasked with generating a working environment that would consolidate Plymouth Rock’s two headquarters locations in Red Bank and Berkeley Heights into one location.
Plymouth Rock is now the primary tenant, occupying space on six floors of a Class A building located at 581 Main Street in Woodbridge, NJ.
The multi-phase build-out project has allowed for the relocation of all of the company’s departments from its Red Bank and Berkeley Heights offices to the new headquarters. AThe new headquarters will house more than 700 employees.
● ELK HOMES
Plans unveiled for new Larchmont development
The revitalization of Downtown Larchmont took a step forward as Rye-based developer Elk Homes unveiled plans for Centro Larchmont, a new luxury condominium residence in the village.
The project will premier modern retail space, a new public pedestrian walkway and increased public parking as well as resident parking.
The new building will replace several aging commercial buildings that will be demolished.
Located at 112 Chatsworth Avenue and 65 Wendt Avenue, the 26-unit building will include 23 market rate and three affordable condos.
Centro Larchmont will include 5,000 s/f of modern retail space along Chatsworth Avenue.
Designed by Perkins Eastman, Centro Larchmont is consistent with the scale of many of the historic and long-established multifamily and mixed-use buildings nearby.
“Centro Larchmont is a bold step in the revitalization of the Village’s central business district,” said Gary D. Hirsch, Chairman of Elk Homes.
● CTA ARCHITECTS
Theater space gets make-over
CTA Architects has completed the exterior renovation of 51 North First Street.
The 5,000 s/f, one-story building in Williamsburg houses the non-profit STREB Lab for Action Mechanics (SLAM), a dance and theater performance venue and an open-access education and rehearsal space.
The project was the first phase of the multi-phased renovation that will modernize and upgrade the entire popular venue.
A former loading facility built in 1920 and once used by the adjacent Old Dutch Mustard Company, the property was vacant when STREB moved in in 2003.
Founder Elizabeth Streb kept the raw elements of the structure, such as the exposed concrete block walls and steel I-beams, as well as the street-level loading gate.
In 2007, Streb had the opportunity to purchase the building with assistance from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA). More recently, the City provided capital funding to renovate the building.
