Sorry, but you are only about 4 years too late on this news scoop. Steven won the competition in 2001 for the new school of architecture building and had a falling out with the faculty who wanted to signigicantly alter his competition scheme. This lead to Steven's eventual departure from the project. Last I heard, Barkow Liebinger was awarded the commission. In fact, the project might even be in construction by now. Can anyone confirm?

i'm currently attending the summer architecture program at cornell. peter karp, director of construction and architectural management here at cornell spoke to our class last week and said that the earliest time the new building would be built would be two years. It's really hard to tell what will happen because there has been many changes in the past. In fact, my professor last week spoke of a plan to build a smaller version of the new building and renovate rand hall. but for one thing, something's got to be done because ncarb is threatening the school's accreditation because rand hall is outdated.

jeez- rand hall was a dump when I went to school there 30 years ago. Of course, my housing was in some buildings built 'during the war' as temporary housing. I thinkit was the second world war! Uhalls, I think they were called? concrete block with skinny halls, tiny closets, etc.
At lease rand has a nice location next to the falls.

^^ justin_hui

I never would've thought a school could be denied accreditation because of an outdated hall. lol

holls scheme and the others can be seen either in the journal A+U and if you can get your hands on one the Cornell journal of architecture #7 i believe. Holl's building caught serious criticism from faculty and students alike and the project was stopped when his giant ego prevented him from working with the university and instituting necassary changes. barkow is current working on the project. images of there scheme can be seen on their website. The barkow building is very close in massing and organization to williams/tsien's entry in the original competition. Following the holl mess, cornell interviewed several more firms before settling on barkowleibinger, including williams/tsien(who were reportedly unprepared and only came to theinterview out of courtsey as they were mad about not winning the first time and being asked to reinterview) smithmillerhawkinson, enrique norton i think. i think meier is still pissy about not being asked but they threw him a bone and let him design a genetics building.

actually I heard that barkow leibinger were fired, and that OMA is now designing some sort of masterplan...That's third party gossip, though, so I don't know how true it is...

actually I heard that barkow leibinger were fired, and that OMA is now designing some sort of masterplan...That's third party gossip, though, so I don't know how true it is...

oops. sorryfor the double post.

access, yes a school can lose its accreditation because of poor facilities. it's not that cornell has outdated technology or tools. rand hall is so old that it can't facilitate some of the newer technologies or more contemporary work...i think

i dont think rem would touch the project. there are too many bureaucratic facility manager type people to deal with. rem and prince ramus are too smart to get mixed up in this headache. the whole thing seems about as enervating and doomed as ground zero

barkow/leibinger have indeed been let go and traded for a prospect to be named later.