Newhouse III receives Best of 2007 honor from New York Construction magazine

Newhouse III receives Best of 2007 honor from New York Construction magazineOctober 02, 2007Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

Newhouse III, the newly opened third building of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, has been honored by New York Construction magazine as one of the best construction projects for 2007. The building was chosen as the best higher education project in the tri-state area. Renowned New York City-based architecture firm Polshek Partnership Architects designed and constructed Newhouse III. Syracuse-based construction firm J.D. Taylor Construction Corp. managed the project. (Photo: Steve Sartori)

Ground was broken for the $31.6 million, 74,000-square-foot addition to the Newhouse Communications Complex in November 2005. The building was completed on schedule in August 2007 and was dedicated on Sept. 19 with a keynote address by Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr.

Newhouse III was funded by a lead gift of $15 million — one of the largest private donations in SU history — by the S.I. Newhouse Foundation and the Newhouse family, and by donations from alumni and friends of the school. The new building supports the Newhouse School’s status as one of the nation’s top schools of communication.

“We are honored that the construction industry has recognized Newhouse III as the highly functional and graceful building that it is. It puts a smile on all our faces every time we enter it,” says Newhouse Dean David Rubin. “The building turned out far better than we could have imagined. Not only do we credit Polshek Partnership, our architect, but we also greatly admire J.D. Taylor Construction Corp. and all the people who actually built this building. They were a great team.”

Tomas J. Rossant AIA, a partner in Polshek Partnership, was lead designer on Newhouse III. “Connecting our new building to the two previous structures presented numerous construction challenges. J.D. Taylor worked with great integrity and rigor to overcome these obstacles and deliver an uncompromised facility. I am delighted that together our firms can be recognized by such an award,” he says.

Designed specifically to foster collaboration through natural gathering places for students, faculty, alumni and guests, Newhouse III is warm and welcoming. From natural daylight streaming throughout the facility to expanded lounges and the popular Food.com dining area to high-tech laboratories that bring together the communications disciplines, the building will support learning for generations to come. The building is wrapped in the words of the First Amendment, the legal foundation of American press freedoms. The words are printed on glass on the building’s exterior, providing perhaps the most striking visual element.

Highlights of Newhouse III include the Center for Digital Convergence Suite; the Collaborative Media Room; the Barney Light Center for Inquiry, Innovation and Imagination (known as the I-3 Center); an expanded Career Development Center (CDC); the Executive Education Suite; the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture; the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium (named for Newhouse alumna and SU trustee Joyce Hergenhan ’63); the new Food.com; two 50-seat classrooms; a 100-seat theater-style screening room; and student organization offices.

New York Construction, the leading magazine for the region’s building industry, is one of 11 regional magazines published by McGraw-Hill Construction. A distinguished jury of construction industry leaders chose the best projects in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for the contest. The jury acknowledged 28 projects in 17 different categories, out of more than 100 submissions. Eligible projects must have been completed between Nov. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30, 2007. An annual awards breakfast to recognize team members from winning projects will be held Dec. 13 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Manhattan.

More information on Newhouse III is available online at: http://newhouse.syr.edu/nh3.