In an attempt to avoid the correct but lengthy word jumble this is, I’m just going to refer to this as the Vet School Expansion. Even then, in terms of physical square footage, expansion is something of a misnomer. The plan calls for the demolition of 68,000 SF of space, the addition of 65,000 SF of space, and the renovation of 33,000 SF. In sum, 3,000 SF less space than which the vet school started with.
However, it’s less about space and more about efficiency. The plans include renovation and expansion of classrooms, teaching laboratories, cafeteria, locker rooms and shower facilities, and a combined Tower Road entrance. In the photos below, the entry plaza and the James Law Auditorium have been torn down. In its place will rise a new three-story addition that will house the vet school’s Flower-Sprecher Library. Parts of Schurman Hall will also be demolished and replaced with a new 2.5 story gallery/courtyard space. Extensive interior renovation will cluster classrooms, labs and service space, improving circulation through the numerous interconnected buildings that comprise the Vet School. The Vet Research Tower will be reclad in lighter, more transparent glass to match the new additions. The design of the expansion is a product of NYC firm Weiss/Manfredi, a Cornell favorite.
Renovations will increase the class size from 102 DVM students to 120 DVM students. Since a DVM degree takes four years, that means an additional 72 students.
Phase one for the vet school expansion is well underway, having a roughly January 2015- January 2016 time frame. The second phase will pick up immediately after the first and run from January 2016 to June 2017.
The budget for both phases is $74.1 million, with funds coming from the SUNY Construction Fund and private sources.
On a humorous note, while going through the project page on the architect’s website, I found an image of a lecture hall with some token presentation slides (last image). The placeholder image is a screenshot I had taken of the Cornell Master Plan back in 2008. Surprise surprise. For the record, I’m totally okay with it (even though I hate the screenshot, dating from the days before I thought to crop images).
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
I like the new, more open design for the vet school entrance. Right now it looks like an impenetrable fortress of huge buildings jumbled together. Refacing the Research Tower with something less grim than black glass would also be nice, though I think dynamite is the only permanent fix for how brutal and inhuman that building is.
[…] More information on the background and details of the expansion can be found in the September update here. […]
[…] After two years of updates, the vet school expansion is practically finished. The exterior finishes are complete, and the Flower-Sprecher library is stocked with bookcases and workstations. Final landscaping and interior finish work appears to be all that is left on the agenda. According to a construction update from the Vet School, the academic spaces officially opened for academic use on September 11th. The exterior landscaping will be finished by October 1st, and offices and labs will be fitted out from now through December. The interior atrium is certainly cavernous and imposing, and it’s a shame the doors were locked during this past weekend’s visit. […]