Ithaca, New York
Collaborators
LAKE | FLATO ARCHITECTS
The proposed Multidisciplinary Building will be the home base for the Atkinson Center for Sustainability, the collaborative sustainability research hub of Cornell University. The site design abstracts the unique topography and hydrology of Ithaca and celebrates the Atkinson Center’s mission by capturing and filtering stormwater through bioswales, pervious pavement, and constructed wetlands.
This proposal aims to reduce conventional drainage infrastructure and potable water use by recycling collected runoff for various on site uses. The stormwater management system restores balance to the water system by using landscape-integrated strategies to promote evapo-transpiration, recharge groundwater, and harvest rainwater while the proposed plant communities will increase biodiversity, improve drought tolerance, and minimize maintenance requirements. The constructed wetlands and bioswales provide an opportunity to engage with unique plant communities and aquatic life. A multiuse path on the west side of the building gives way to a gathering space at the edge of an expanded green framed by the new building, Rice and Bruckner Halls.