Following the shortlisting of three finalists in January, Syracuse University announced today that SHoP Architects has been selected to design the new National Veterans Resource Complex (NVRC). The winning proposal was selected by a jury led by Martha Thorne, Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and Dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid, beating out entries by Snøhetta and Adjaye Associates. The NVRC will serve as the headquarters of the University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), which has helped more than 48,000 veterans and military families.
Planned for the western section of the Waverly block on the Syracuse University campus, the NVRC will serve as the new home of the Syracuse University and Regional Student Veteran Resource Center, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs “Vet-Success on Campus”, the National Center of Excellence for Veteran Business Ownership, Veteran Business Outreach Center and Accelerator, and Syracuse University’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, as well as provide offices for the Army and Air Force Reserve Training Corps.
A part of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's Upstate Revitalization Initiative, the LEED-certified building will contain classrooms, a conference center and a 1,000-seat auditorium to host both local and national veteran-focused events designed to promote the success of the region’s and the nation’s veterans and military families. A new gallery space will also be included in the facility to exhibit the stories and legacy of American veterans at Syracuse University.
“The programmatic demands on this building, its historic symbolism for the University, and the gateway role it will play on the campus,” adds SHoP Founding Partner William Sharples, “dictate a very high level of performance in its design—a building that is at once inviting to all and a specialized tool perfectly suited for the specific work that will take place there.”
The NVRC is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2019.
