Marble Fairbanks

This project is an alternative configuration for the public spaces of the Graduate School of Journalism and an addition to the building that sensitively responds to the McKim, Meade and White context. Included in the project are spaces for the Journalism Library, the offices of the Columbia Journalism Review, assorted faculty and administrative offices, and classroom space. Central to the proposal is the introduction of several new spaces to serve as a social and intellectual center for the School: a multi-purpose “social hub” for student-faculty interaction as well as larger meetings with visitors to the school, and a more informal student lounge space and café. The social hub accommodates a diverse range of programs: study space for students in between classes, meeting space for students and faculty, informal presentation space for visitors from the journalism industry, and other such communal event spaces for the Journalism School. The café/lounge is intended to be a louder, more informal space for the School’s students, complete with plasma screens and LED signage that will broadcast the news to patrons. Its site at the formerly outdoor space between Journalism and Furnald allows it to engage the campus environment while also remaining within the School of Journalism. A transparent glass structure is proposed to give the School a more active presence on its entry plaza.