2020-’21: HOLT Architects – Southern New York

SUNY Cortland Moffett Center Renovation, Phase 2

The Moffett Center is an 85,000 sf, two-story brick building built as one of the original structures on the SUNY Cortland campus in 1954. The building was constructed as the Physical Education building, but as the campus evolved it no longer served this function.

The first phase of the Moffett Center renovation transformed the natatorium and existing locker rooms into classrooms and faculty space for the departments of Anthropology and Sociology.

The second phase transformed the historic large gymnasium and faculty offices into classrooms and department space for the Human Studies programs the School of Arts and Sciences.

Location: 40 Graham Ave., Cortland, NY 13045

Completed: September 2020

Design Award Year: 2020-’21

Award Category: Institutional

Award Level: Merit

AIA SNY COTE Medal: Bronze

Submitting Architect and Project Link:

Quay Thompson, AIA

www.holt.com

The design renovated the historic gymnasium into an interior “Town Square” surrounded on two levels by classrooms and student amenities. The Square is designed to slow the natural flow of circulation and is scaled to create a comfortable environment for students and faculty to interact in small groups. This 2-story volume connects the multiple levels of program spaces and is lit naturally from above.

The design organized department “main offices” at centralized locations, and then broke faculty offices into suites of “faculty teams”, each with a shared break-out room for small group meeting.

The interior renovation responds to the building’s historic exterior “Jeffersonian” style through the use of symmetry, an ordered colonnade style atrium, a subtle barrel vault skylight, and a double set of suppressed stairs up to mezzanine.

While the building is organized around classical principals, it follows the material precedent and contemporary style established in the phase I renovation.