It seems that after Cornell overcame the danger of having both their accreditation and new architecture school eradicated from the campus, there has been smooth sailing in terms of the physical construction of OMA’S Milstein Hall. The building is right on schedule to be fully completed in the Fall of 2011, as the structural steel, and the exterior structure + roof are being erected.
More images of the steel and more about the current construction phase after the break.
A few weeks ago, the first steel beams arrived on site, and the construction of the trusses that are to support the cantilever were quickly placed. “So much of what they’ve been doing is getting the ground plane ready,” John McKeown, the project’s director. “Every project has its bumps, and moments when questions need to be answered, but there have been no significant problems at all. The architects from the Office for Metropolitan Architecture are here every two weeks, and available to be consulted at any moment.”
The student body is completely looking forward to its new home, and has been learning from the construction process as building commissioners lecture about the building codes involved, the construction management strategies, etc. Koolhaas’ project, his first building designed for fellow architects, is seen as “a miracle box” that will connect the campus. ”I am convinced that we have a design that delivers both the pedagogical instrument we need and one that contributes in a very substantial way to the quality and renown of the institution. I have come to think of Milstein Hall not so much as a singular building but as a kind of civic gesture, a piece of urban fabric,” explained the Dean.
“We have a good partnership with the construction managers [Welliver-Mcguire Inc.],” McKeown said. “It’s so rewarding to see the project moving along so quickly.”
As seen on @CU_Milstein Hall via twitter and from Paul Milstein Hall News.
