Nobel Halls, Stony Brook University
Posted
06/29/2011
Nobel Halls, Stony Brook University, Long
Island, N.Y.
As part of The State University of New York, Stony Brook
University on Long Island's north shore, is part of the
nation's largest and most comprehensive state university
system. Both budget and time constraints played important
roles in the architectural design for new residence halls
that were required to meet the needs of the
university's fast-growing student population.
"The
university needed buildings that could be constructed fast and
inexpensively," says F. Eric Goshow, AIA, LEED AP, partner,
Goshow Architects. "We wanted to build with
pre-fabricated elements to beat the clock … Metal panel
systems have been a great favorite of ours. They establish
a bright and clean look for buildings."
Alucobond Plus aluminum composite material by 3A Composites
USA Inc. were ordered in bold colors and installed as exterior
cladding on an interconnected series of three buildings
totaling 173,000 square feet with varying heights of two
to six stories to create architectural interest.
Included in the $56 million project are two new student
residences known as the Nobel Halls and named after Nobel
Prize-winners C.N. Yang and Paul Lauterbur, both former Stony
Brook faculty members. The 604-bed Nobel Halls,
which welcomed their first student residents in
August 2010, are divided into 104 suite-style
apartments featuring a living room, bathroom and three
double bedrooms (the latter serving as single
bedrooms for resident managers). Adjacent to the two
attached residence halls is the Center for Global Studies
and Human Development, which provides multipurpose spaces and
a café area.
Approximately 100,000 square feet of 4-mmthick Alucobond
Plus was installed on the building in a wide range of colors,
including: 25,300 square feet of custom Birch; 7,300 square
feet of Flag Red; 16,800 square feet of custom SUNY
Orange; 30,300 square feet of Bone White; 15,300
square feet of custom Arabian Blue; and 5,000 square
feet of Cadet Gray. The Alucobond Plus colors were chosen
to serve not only as building identifiers, but as a way to
brighten the campus, according to Goshow, who said his firm
interviewed Stony Brook students prior to designing the
buildings and learned that they thought the campus looked
"too brown" in the wintertime.
"We believe in the use of color," says Goshow. "Color helps
to brighten the whole experience. Additionally, we designed
the buildings with lots of windows and translucent glazing to
provide the interiors with natural daylight and so the
buildings could serve as way-finding lanterns at night."
The contemporary Alucobond Plus material in bold colors
helps to make these buildings stand out on the 1,000-acre
campus, most of which was built in the 1960s and 70s. In
particular, nearby residence halls were designed in the
"brutalist" architectural style featuring poured concrete
and brick, as well as pitched roofing. Initially,
university officials requested that the new residence
halls match that style.
"We convinced the university that they couldn't build
traditionally; bricks are labor-intensive and
not cost-effective," says Goshow. "We also wanted to
focus on building for the 21st century. It was the perfect
time because we had a new university president-Samuel L.
Stanley Jr., M.D.-coming on board. And, we wanted to reflect
Stony Brook's academic programs, which have huge emphases
on science and technology as well as sustainability.
We wanted to distinguish ourselves from the old and look
toward the future with confidence."
The building project is
registered under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED
program. At a minimum, it was required to achieve LEED
Silver certification but instead was designed and
currently is being submitted for LEED Gold
certification, according to Amanda Langweil, AIA, LEED
AP BD+C, CSI, CDT, director of sustainability,
Goshow Architects, who said installation of the
Alucobond backed by insulation outboard of studs played
an important role in meeting guidelines for a
higher level of LEED certification.
"This project was unique in that the thermal insulation was
mounted to the exterior of the metal studs rather than in
between the studs to achieve better thermal efficiency,"
according to Mike Dell'Olio, vice president, Kenneth J. Herman
Inc., the fabricator and installer, who said the Alucobond
Plus panels were installed in a rout-and- return
dry-seal curtainwall system that is fully guttered and
weeped.
Another unique unique project challenge involved creating
the geometric shapes included in the architectural design of
the Center for GlobalStudies and Human Development, which was
clad in Alucobond Plus in Flag Red.
"The walls of this center are inward sloping on certain
elevations and transition to vertical; and, there are numerous
window return conditions on the entire project," says
Dell'Olio "This design required unique panel shapes that could
only be accomplished with Alucobond. We proposed Alucobond for
this project in order to achieve this architectural look
without the need for exposed applied trim."
To meet a fast-approaching move-in deadline for students,
Kenneth J. Herman Inc. fabricated the Alucobond panels as they
were being installed.
"The project's timing, creating a new look and beating the
budget were key areas of focus for both our architectural and
construction teams," says Goshow.
General contractor: J. Kokolakis Contracting Inc., Bohemia,
N.Y.
Architect: Goshow Architects, New York
Fabricator/installer: Kenneth J. Herman
Inc., Amityville, N.Y.
Metal wall panels: 3A Composites, Mooresville,
N.C., www.alucobondusa.com, Circle #69