The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a distinguished private college of art, architecture and engineering founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper, an inventor, industrialist and philanthropist. Since its founding, every admitted student has received a full-tuition scholarship. In 2001, The Cooper Union completed a strategic plan to modernize the institution’s facilities, enhance its academic programs and strengthen its financial base in order to be able to maintain the promise of its full-tuition scholarship policy far into the future. The plan identified the need for a new academic building, which would house its Albert Nerken School of Engineering, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and additional space for art and architecture studios and classrooms. During the planning process, the institution committed to sustainability as a major priority for the new academic building and for all future projects. The Cooper Union selected Jonathan Rose Companies, a green real estate project management, development, planning and investment firm, to act as the owner’s representative on the new academic building project -- the linchpin of the strategic plan.

Exterior photos by Jean Oei of Morphosis.

The college organized a distinguished Architect Selection Committee to identify a designer who would represent Cooper Union’s vision and pedagogy. Jonathan Rose Companies’ team supported the process. Soliciting input from its graduates and friends, the college assembled a list of 150 firms from around the world and went through a rigorous review to winnow the list, adhering to a set of carefully developed criteria. The process led to the appointment of Thom Mayne -- who would become the next Pritzker Prize winner -- and his firm, Morphosis. Together, The Cooper Union and Jonathan Rose Companies working with Morphosis, associate architect GruzenSamton, and Sciame Construction, formed a project management team, which assembled 25 subconsultants, to embark on the planning, design and construction of The Cooper Union’s $150 million, 175,000-square-foot academic building that would be the city’s first LEED certified laboratory building.

As Cooper’s owner’s representative, Jonathan Rose Companies kept the team focused on the program, budget and schedule while drawing on the firm’s depth of green experience to support design and construction of a building that would aspire to LEED Platinum standards. We were instrumental in defining the green goals early on in the project’s planning stages and worked in concert with the institution’s Steering Committee, which was very committed to sustainable design. Green goals figured prominently throughout the consultant selection process, contract negotiations and design and construction processes. This vigilance was a key factor in the building’s successful implementation of a number of green building systems, including a unique radiant heating and cooling system.

Exterior photos by Jean Oei of Morphosis.

Although our first loyalty is always to the owners with whom we work, we have found that it is essential to develop a collaborative project management process in which the full team is working to achieve the best possible project. Subsequently, we promoted a model for a truly collaborative design process for The Cooper Union team, in which every consultant was encouraged to contribute his or her best thinking, so that ideas could build upon each other. We further expanded this spirit of collaboration by deeply integrating the entire design and construction team into the Cooper Union community by teaching classes, giving lectures, taking interns into our offices and consulting with faculty, staff and students.

Each idea was then rigorously tested for cost, constructability and contribution to the project’s green goals. Using an integrated design process, the result far exceeded the project's initial green goal of LEED Silver certification and is on track to achieve platinum certification -- an outstanding accomplishment for a building featuring laboratories.

Exterior photos by Jean Oei of Morphosis.

As owner’s representative, Jonathan Rose Companies supported the client in various ways throughout the process. For example, we arranged site visits to see examples of new building materials and emerging practices, and built full-scale mock-ups of building components during the design process to address concerns about many cutting-edge features in the building. The mock-ups informed not only the design, but also the construction process thus reducing the risk associated with using new materials and techniques.

To maximize the benefits of operating this state-of-the-art new building, we worked with Cooper Union to assure staff selection and training appropriate to manage all of the building’s functions and extend its life.

One of the challenges in any green project is selecting the right systems for the building. There are always new products from which to choose. Cost must be balanced with constructability and functionality when selecting a system not yet well known by the industry or by building owners. One of the green technologies proposed by Morphosis and recommended by Jonathan Rose Companies was a radiant ceiling system, a technology that is relatively new to the HVAC industry in the United States.

Radiant HVAC systems are based on the concept of heating and cooling things such as the people and furniture in a room rather than the air around objects. Using radiant systems allows for the separation of temperature control and ventilation so that each can be optimized for the conditions of the room. This was essential for a building with widely varying ventilation requirements for laboratories, offices, painting studios and an auditorium.

Photo by Mike Gillette.

“Radiation is the process by which heat energy in the form of electromagnetic waves is emitted by a warm body, transmitted through an intervening space, and absorbed by a cooler body,” according to Francis D.K. Ching, author of “Building Construction Illustrated.” While this type of design does not produce rapid shifts in temperature, it has been shown that it is more energy efficient and more effective than forced-air heating systems. Radiant heating has been long used in flooring systems but is not as common in ceiling systems. Radiant cooling is even less common, in large part because of the perception that it will cause moisture condensation issues. But, when properly designed alongside complementing ventilation and humidity controls systems, as has been done by the experienced design team for Cooper Union’s academic building, this system can be successfully used in a variety of applications.

The advantages of a radiant ceiling heating and cooling systems are numerous. At Cooper Union, there were substantial construction-cost savings because three systems were achieved in one: heating, cooling and the ceiling. HVAC units such as air handlers could be sized for the use, often with smaller capacity, which also saved costs. Because ductwork can be smaller in this system, ceiling heights could be higher. Overall, the system is aesthetically pleasing and compliments a building design that is functional and beautiful without any additional extravagant finishes.

In addition to the radiant ceiling HVAC system, the new academic building boasts a lengthy list of other green features. One of the most innovative is an extremely energy-efficient glass façade wrapped with a second skin of perforated metal panels, which improves the building's performance by controlling sunlight penetration and adding an additional layer of insulation. The full-building atrium maximizes daylighting to increase user comfort and health. The building also has a cogeneration plant, a green roof, low-flow plumbing fixtures, a stormwater retention system that will irrigate the green roof and flush a portion of the toilets, and low-emitting, recycled, renewable and easily maintainable building materials.

As a project management team, The Cooper Union and Jonathan Rose Companies, in collaboration with the entire design and construction team, successfully executed the college’s vision of a more sustainable environment for students, faculty and the surrounding community. As New York City’s first LEED Platinum certified laboratory building, the innovative academic building will serve as a benchmark for future green buildings to come.

Sidebar: The Cooper Union

Size: 175,000 square feet
Location: New York, N.Y.
Completion Date: Spring 2009

Project team

Owner: The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Owner’s Representative: Jonathan Rose Companies
Executive Architect: Morphosis
Associate Architect: Gruzen Samton
Construction Manager: F.J. Sciame Construction
MEP Engineer: IBE Consulting Engineers/Syska Hennessy Group

Materials

Radiant ceiling
Manufacturer of ceiling grid and panels: Nelson Industrial
Fabrication of copper piping and hoses: TWA