Ithacating in Cornell Heights

Check out that glass curtain wall going up on the Vet Research Tower. The lighter hues vs. the original dark glass gives the building a airier, less ominous presence. We’re starting to see some HVAC rough-ins going in the new library/administration building. The deconstruction of existing wings appears to be wrapped up and it looks like works has started on the frame of the new academic building to go between Schurman Hall and the VRT. Although not visible from these photos (because it is a pain to maneuver around the vet school), Cornell and its contractor Welliver have been working on the foundation and underground utilities, and construction of a new second-floor cafeteria space.

A separate project, the Community Practice Service Building, is in the design phase. CPS is what you think it is – fourth-year students, as part of their final year of education, provide low-cost veterinary services to the greater Ithaca area. It will replace the Poultry Virus Lab, which will come down in December. The CPS Building will take just under a year to build.

For those with some serious dough lying around, the new academic building’s naming rights are available for $20 million, and the administration building’s naming rights are being offered for $7 million. For the rest of the 1%, a lecture hall goes for about $1.5 million, and regular classrooms for $250,000. The most inexpensive options appear to be tutorial rooms for $75,000.