Columbia University The Forum

Description

Part of Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus, The Forum is a 3-storey multipurpose venue hosting academic conferences and meetings. The transparent, luminous and active ground floor is permeable and open to the public. The 2 storeys above contain a 430-seat auditorium, support spaces, foyer, meeting rooms, classrooms and offices. The auditorium, whose function requires opaqueness, is expressed with a prefabricated concrete skin, whereas the offices, which require daylight, have a glazed façade.

Statement of the jury

With its distinctive recesses and cut-aways, especially the entrance area that looks like a ship's bow tapering down to a point and its transparent and closed areas, the three-storey building's strikingly sculptured appearance makes it highly recognisable. A modern, inviting building that has a variety of functions.