NYC architects reimagine the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Morningside Heights campus
All renderings courtesy of Michael Moran
The Jewish Theological Seminary on Thursday released images of its newly redesigned campus in Morningside Heights. The campus was redesigned by the award-winning Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects who have reimagined it with the community-focused form of Judaism that JTS teaches and practices through new open, outward-facing architecture.
The campus’s new library includes a public-facing exhibition gallery and climate-controlled rare books room containing an unparalleled collection of Judaica, the most expansive of its kind outside of Israel. The residence halls have been fully upgraded with communal gathering spaces, kosher kitchens, and a new student lounge.
An upgraded auditorium and performance space can hold up to 200 guests and includes a newly installed assistive listening system and increased capacity for high-quality video streaming.
A 7,000 square foot sky-lit atrium can be used as a forum space to sit and relax, or as a space for lectures, religious services, and graduation ceremonies.
A new outdoor courtyard space with a garden can be used as a place for guests to enjoy their meals outside when the weather is nice. The space is also designed to accommodate the JTS sukkah during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. MNLA, the landscape architecture firm behind Little Island the public space at Waterline Square, designed the outdoor courtyard and garden.
The redesign has accessibility in mind, including easily accessible elevators and bathrooms, ADA-compliant dorm rooms, wheelchair spaces in the auditorium, and complete wheelchair accessibility to the library, residence halls, auditorium, atrium, and courtyard.
The campus features green design features like high-efficiency LED lighting, economizers for air handling systems, efficient thermal performance, and three green spaces on the rooftop.
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects designed another cultural space a little further downtown. The firm handled the public spaces for David Geffen Hall, the new $500 million home of the New York Philharmonic, which is set to open in October.
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