by: Kristen Richards Hon. ASLA Hon. AIA
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
(l-r): Steve Sartori; Kristen Richards
On a sizzling August day, a small group of journalists were treated to a day trip to a much cooler Syracuse for a hard hat tour of Newhouse III, the latest addition to Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications complex. Designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, the $31.6 million, 74,000-square-foot addition is the final step of I.M. Pei, FAIA’s master plan begun with the completion his 1964 building; the second building by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, opened in 1974. For James Polshek, FAIA, and Tomas Rossant, AIA, the challenges included respecting the period architecture while creating a vibrant, new face for the campus (the school is located at one of the university’s main entrances). “My belief is that any building with an intellectual purpose has to tell a story,” Polshek said. Newhouse III tells its story with an undulating, fritted glass façade with the words of the First Amendment etched in letters six feet high along the base. Inside, a soaring, skylit atrium fills the interior spaces with natural light.
With the rapid evolution of the digital age, communal spaces in the two older buildings had been cannibalized for computer and media labs. According to Rossant, the new building will become “the missing social heart” of the communications school, with lounges, casual gathering spaces, a 350-seat auditorium, and a Food.com dining area, along with high-tech labs and classrooms that bring together the communications disciplines. Opening celebrations for Newhouse III, made possible by a $15 million grant from the S.I. Newhouse Foundation and the Newhouse family, will kick off on September 19 with a keynote speech by U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
Kristen Richards is editor of Oculus magazine and ArchNewsNow.com.