Well, it is actually The Cooper Union’s new building, but it can be named after you for a 35 million dollar donation. Or, there are many other naming opportunities well within reach of many of us. This is what it takes to make a great building.
And it will be a great building. There will be state of the art technology labs, modern fully wired classrooms, offices, design studios, etc. This building will also be the most environmentally green laboratory building in New York, encompassing an electric co-generating plant, an outer skin that will automatically adjust to help regulate light and temperature changes within the building, and it will even collect rain water to use for flushing toilets. There are many more innovations being employed that will enable the building to be granted a Silver LEED rating.
More important than the “bricks and mortar” of this building, will be its contribution to The Cooper Union’s ability to continue to provide the level of educational opportunities, well into the 21st century, that most of us had the privilege to benefit from in the 20th century. As part of the overall plan, the Foundation Building will be getting modernized for future generations of students as well.
The Hewitt Building, currently on the site of the new building, is in the process of being demolished. The interior demolition has been completed, and the work on the outside is commencing. It will be just a memory by the end of March.
A live web site has been set up where you can see the actual work being done on the building site at:
http://www.inetonsite.com/onsite/ip.asp?O=A&CL=117&S=247&CA=735
You can see the Hewitt Building coming down now, and you will be able to track the progress as the new building gets underway. The web site will show you groundbreaking in late March, through the completion of the building envelope in October 2007, to the completion of the interior and exterior in January 2009.
There have been number of questions asked about the timing of the project. Unfortunately there have been some delays from the original schedule. (Not to be unexpected in a project of this magnitude). These ranged from early community objections regarding the size of the building, to, more recently, some ambiguous language in a 1902 land deed, which held up the financing. We have satisfied the community concerns by scaling down the square footage of the building, and the NY Attorney General’s office resolved the document issue by “green lighting” the financing. With similar resolutions of the other impediments, we are now “good to go”, to borrow a NASA phrase.
I am glad to report that the 250 million dollar capital campaign is well past the half way mark. But, we still have a ways to go to insure that we will be able to eventually pay off the financing on the new building. Gifts from our friends, families, businesses, and employers will help get us there, and there are great naming opportunities for everyone, but there is one giving opportunity reserved strictly for alumni. That is the Alumni Roof Terrace. The terrace of the new academic building will afford exceptional views of New York. There are a limited number of alumni that will be allowed to participate. You can have your name engraved on the roof terrace for gifts of $2,500, $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000. You can pay out your gift over 5 years, making it easier than a single lump sum payment. For further information on how to participate please call 212-353-4107 or email cubuilds@cooper.edu. This unique naming opportunity will be available on a first come first served basis. A number of slots have already been taken, so do not delay in getting your name permanently emblazoned on YOUR new building.
Mark Epstein
Art’76
