9Albert Einstein College of Medicine

ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINEStairway of DNA

Metals in Construction Fall 20088

When the Albert Einstein Collegeof Medicine began planning for its first major research facility intwo decades, the administrationdecided it wanted to create auniquely collaborative environmentthat would foster interaction and cross-pollination among the facility’s 40-odd research teams. In response, Payette—the archi-tectural firm selected to design theMichael F. Price Center for Geneticand Translational Medicine—conceptualized an L-shapedbuilding with wet labs in the two wings and a dramatic glass-enclosed atrium and core at theirjuncture. The atrium, with its lightand airy common spaces, is designed to draw scientists for thesharing of ideas, while a dramatictwo-story steel spiral staircase invites vertical circulation withinthe core.

It is the stairway that ties it alltogether, literally and figuratively,encouraging the desired interac-tion. “Not only do you have cross-pollination happening on the floorsbut also between floors,” explainsChris Baylow, the project managerfor Payette. Salvatore Ciampo, the senior director for facilitiesmanagement at the college, says, “I love that it looks like DNA. It has relevance to what we dohere. It’s almost like a sign.” Like DNA, the stair acts as the catalyst for the research that takes placeinside by connecting to a series of lounges on each floor where researchers congregate to eat, socialize, and relax. And becausethe stair is located in the building’sinviting atrium, the hope is researchers and doctors will preferit to the elevator. “This way, notonly will the scientists on the samefloor be bumping into each otherand sharing ideas, but it will happenthroughout the entire facility.”

Though it looks like a unifiedspiral, the stair is composed oftwo distinct flights, one connectingthe second and third floors, another connecting the third andfourth. Empire City Ironworks fab-ricated each flight off-site in threepieces. “It was originally plannedto deliver each flight in one piece,”explains Richard Wolkowitz, VicePresident at Tishman Construction.“However, due to the fabricationschedule, the building facadeglass could not be left open. Each flight was fully fabricated inthe steel shop and then cut down into the three sections for delivery.”

10 Metals in Construction Fall 2008 Albert Einstein College of Medicine 11

Previous A prominent glass prow on the new facility houses dry labs, communicating the activity within to theworld outside.Left Each of the stair’s two flights wasshop fabricated in three pieces, thenwelded together on site.

Below and Facing The stair’s curvingform is meant to resemble the helicalform of DNA.

Upon delivery, the pieces werewelded and ground smooth inplace. Steel plates wereembedded in the concrete floorslabs to receive the stringers.These connections are welded and concealed by a wood fascia.

The structure is a steel boxstringer made of a series of ½-inch AISC AESS built-up plate sections with continuous ¼-inchpartial penetration fillet welds.Payette fitted the stairs with aglass handrail to mimic the atrium curtain wall, utilizing 18-inch-deep,½-inch-thick monolithic low-ironglass. The glass is recessed intothe stringer and held in place withPor-Rock non-shrink grout. It isalso fitted with a mahogany railingthat echoes the wooden motiffound throughout much of the interior. The railing is fitted to theglass with stainless steel brackets.The stair’s steel plate treads, whichwere welded to the stringer, werethen fitted with ipê wood treads,which were screwed in place.

To create as inviting a space

as possible, Payette chose to facethe atrium with a clear, seamless glass curtain wall. Also, as the first building in a new 15-acre north campus—it doubles the sizeof the school’s grounds—the newresearch center was designed as an entry point for all that will eventually rise behind it, a connec-tion the glass helped emphasize. “Before you even enter the building,you can see right through to thewhole new campus we have envisioned,” explains Baylow.

Payette turned to Pilkington’sPlanar system to enclose the dramatic atrium. “It’s about astransparent an enclosure materialas you can get,” says Baylow. Theultra-clear, low-iron glass panelsare generally 4 feet 7 inches by13 feet and 1½-inches in thicknessincluding the air space. The panelsare sealed with dry gaskets andsilicone, and glass fins fastened to the panels by stainless steel spider connectors provide lateralstability. To reinforce the idea ofconnection to a wider campus, the

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13Albert Einstein College of Medicine12 Metals in Construction Fall 2008

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ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Location: 1301 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NYOwner: Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York, NYArchitect: Payette, Boston, MAStructural Engineer: Weidlinger Associates, New York, NYMechanical Engineer: WSP Flack + Kurtz, New York, NYGeneral Contractor: Tishman Construction, New York, NYCurtain Wall Consultant: Gordon H. Smith Corporation, New York, NYStructural Steel Fabricator and Erector: Empire City Iron Works, Long Island City, NYMiscellaneous Iron Fabricator and Erector: Empire City Iron Works, Long Island City, NYArchitectural Metal Fabricator and Erector: Empire City Iron Works, Long Island City, NYOrnamental Metal Fabricator and Erector: Empire City Iron Works, Long Island City, NYCurtain Wall Fabricators: Sota Glazing Inc., Brampton, ON;

Pilkington North America, Toledo, OHCurtain Wall Erector: W&W, Nanuet, NYMetal Deck Erector: Empire City Iron Works, Long Island City, NY

Above The open, light field environment is intended to foster ideas and randomencounters between researchers.Facing Views pass straight through thebuilding’s lobby to the other side, settingthe building up as a gateway to a newcampus.

lobby within the atrium runs straightthrough the building to anotherglass wall on the other side.

“It’s art that fosters collabora-tion,” says Ciampo. “By creatingthese light and airy spaces, we encourage co-mingling, which encourages collaboration.” Eventhe stairways at the edges of the L-shaped building are wide andinviting, encased in a glass curtainwall composed of 1-inch-thick insulated glass panels set in extruded aluminum mullions. “Wereally wanted to get people awayfrom the elevators, which can be adead zone for ideas,” says Baylow.

Wanting to maintain the dramathat the glass atrium createdthroughout the building, Payette also turned to a curtain wall for the “dry” labs, where morecomputational, desk-bound research takes place. These labsare located in the prominent prowof the building, floors two through

five, which are enclosed with analuminum-framed glazing systemwith glass colored in a mix oftones that skew from green toblue. The different colored panelscreate shadow lines across theface of the prow, animating the exterior. “What it says is there’s a lot of activity and sharingin that part of the building, a lot ofideas moving back and forth,” saysBaylow. “We wanted that part ofthe facade to read to the outsideworld and convey what’s going on inside.”

By all accounts, the Michael F. Price Center has been a real success, thanks in no small part to the master craftsmen of the ornamental metal industry. “For the first building of the expansion,it really is a statement,” enthusesCiampo. “We wanted to set thestandard for the new campus, and I think Payette certainly has.They’ve hit a homerun.” M