Fernow Hall was built between 1912-1914, on a prominent hillside site within Cornell University’s campus. The building is on the National Register and was a “pioneer” of its day, housing academic programs under the auspices of new university departments. A collection of building interventions over time had partitioned originally open spaces, leaving dark internal corridors and enclosures that obscured the building’s educational intent.
The rehabilitation aimed to preserve and restore the building’s character-defining elements with minimal historic impact, open up enclosed spaces, enhance circulation, and provide a modern learning environment. Reopening the large stair path encouraged student/faculty interaction and revealed the academic and research agenda of the Department of Natural Resources. The rehabilitation included exterior and interior restoration, new offices, conference rooms and collaboration spaces as well as a 1,700 sf addition.
The design of the restoration and addition was a two-part landscape intervention. The scale of the historic building and its terracing, as seen from the main approach, was preserved; the addition inserted a glass structure into the slope with a seamless continuation of lawn onto its green roof.
The entire project is a manifestation of the Department’s interactive teaching process and focus on biodiversity, climate change, and natural resources. The classroom addition provides a platform to grow and monitor experimental plants— thus supporting the Department’s mission for both hands-on horticulture and research.
Having achieved LEED Gold certifi cation, the design counts among its sustainable aspects a daylit north facing facade, terraced areaway, and stormwater-fed rain garden. A digital dashboard powered by photovoltaic skylight panels offers realtime energy usage data. The end result is a harmonious facility uniting 20th century architecture with 21st century ideas about renewable energy, sustainable design and educational pedagogy.
