A two-year community college in Valhalla, N.Y., Westchester Community College is the largest provider of English language colleges in the county. With full-time enrollment including students from approximately 90 different countries, the college needed a centralized place where students, visitors and community members could learn how to access the college’s facilities and programs, as well as a singular location for its immigrant and international student services.
Designed by New York City-based Ennead Architects, the Gateway Center is emblematic of the college’s commitment to a more accessible education for residents of Westchester County and to an American college experience for the many recent immigrants seeking to improve the quality of their lives, says Susan Rodriguez, FAIA, design partner at Ennead Architects. Located at the east entrance, the Gateway Center is a dynamic first point of entry for the campus.
Intended as a physical embodiment of the word “gateway”-an entrance or means of access-the building is sited to take advantage of the natural beauty of the campus landscape, and is a threshold to the college and an initial expression of campus identity. “Building and site are unified to form a sustainable daylit environment,” Rodriguez says. “Combining references to the campus’s architectural legacy and state-of-the-art technology, the building creates a unique educational crossroads and a defining center for campus life.”
Building materials were selected to both integrate with the existing campus fabric and distinguish a new signature building for the college. “Fieldstone is used at the base of the building to connect with the historic buildings on campus, while offices and classrooms, cantilevered over a base of structurally glazed walls, are clad in zinc,” describes Rodriguez. “The structural X-brace at each sunscreen panel references back to the Tudor brick argyle pattern featured on the original estate building, Hartford Hall.”
Serving as the lobby and welcome center, a multistory transparent glass and steel gateway pavilion connects two academic wings that embrace a landscaped courtyard. “The Gateway Pavilion that unifies the north and south wings of the building is wrapped in an aluminum and glass curtainwall assembly supported by a modular system of exposed structural steel elements to create a column-free space and a transparent environment,” Rodriguez explains. “This 48-foot-tall glass cube creates a striking lobby and people can be seen moving through the building, showcasing the activities of the Center to the campus community.”
One of the project’s most prominent features is a 60-foot-tall tower built of steel and clad in zinc panels. Located adjacent to the building’s south wing, the tower is the highest point on campus. “The structure, which tapers from 10 feet wide at the base to less than 3 feet at the top, consists of two interconnected plates built up into an 18-inch overall cross-section,” says Rodriguez. “Along the east-facing narrow edge of the tower is a full-height LED, allowing the tower to serve as a beacon-a symbol of promise and opportunity for the Westchester community and future generations of immigrants.”
A major component of the building’s north wing, as well as the tower, is 30,000 square feet of 1.5-mm VMZ Flat Lock Panels in Quartz-Zinc from Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C. The customdesigned brise soleil, which is approximately 19 feet tall and 160 feet long, is located on the building’s south-facing courtyard façade. It allows undisrupted views of the campus and beyond while optimizing natural light and limiting glare within the building.
“Sustainable design principles informed the design from the overall siting and massing strategy to the integration of energy-efficient systems and the detail development and selection of materials,” Rodriguez says. The LEED Gold certified building is the first Westchester County-owned LEED certified building.
Gateway Center for English as a Second Language, Westchester Community College, Valhalla, N.Y.
Completed: July 2010
Total square footage: 70,000 square feet
Architect: ENNEAD Architects LLP, New York City, www.ennead.com
Constr uction manager: STV, New York City
General co ntractor: Worth Construction Co. Inc., Bethel, Conn.
Installer: Barrett Roofing, Millington, N.J.
Brise soleil: Manufab Inc., Kenner, La., (504) 466-2368
Curtai nwall: Kawneer Co. Inc., Norcross, Ga., www.kawneer.com
Structural steel: R&S Steel, Rome, N.Y., www.randssteel.com
Zinc wall pannels: Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C., www.vmzinc-us.com
