Renzo Piano-Designed Columbia University Campus Opens in Harlem

Columbia University's new urban campus in Harlem, designed by Renzo Piano, officially opens on October 24, 2016, though full operations will take months. Located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Broadway in Manhattanville, the $2.5 billion project includes Piano's Jerome L. Greene Science Center, a 50-meter-tall, 130,000-square-meter structure housing labs and offices. The campus is part of a decade-old master plan to transform seven hectares of West Harlem with 15 new buildings, including the Lenfest Center for Arts (2017), University Forum and Academic Conference Center (2018), and the University's Business School by Diller + Scofidio (2021). The science center also hosts the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, focused on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, launched with $200 million and involving 900 researchers. Former President Barack Obama will have representative offices in the building after leaving the White House. Piano's design emphasizes openness, with ground-level spaces accessible to the community, contrasting with Columbia's neopalladian Morningside Heights campus.