Kim Chen, director for capital project management at Columbia, participated on a panel on higher education construction hosted by AIA New York on July 30, 2020.
The panel shared perspectives from university architects and planners on optimizing historic campus buildings and adapting them for greater functionality, resiliency, sustainability, and long-term preservation.
At the event, Chen reviewed approaches to modernizing existing buildings to support long-term academic, research, and student life needs at Columbia’s historic Morningside campus. She explained that her team identifies opportunities to enhance spaces while preserving them, explores adaptive spaces that can be repurposed, and conducts studies to determine spaces that could be available for a broad range of initiatives over the next two decades. Sustainable approaches are incorporated across all projects.
Chen’s presentation also highlighted recent projects to show how spaces were revitalized, including the historic restoration of St. Paul’s Chapel, an iconic campus venue that was dedicated in 1907. The two-year restoration project went on to earn the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award in 2020, New York Landmarks Conservancy’s highest honors for excellence in preservation.
Joining Chen on the panel were Sarah J. Boykin, Sewanee; David Lenox, Stanford University; and Alice Raucher, University of Virginia. The panel was moderated by Jeffrey Murphy, founding Partner of MBB Architects.
Founded in 1857, AIA New York’s members include over 5,000 practicing architects, allied professionals, students, and public members interested in architecture and design.