As the final glass panels of its luminous exterior are installed, the new Diana Center at Barnard College is poised to become a significant architectural presence on Broadway, in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City. Located on Broadway, between 118th and 119th streets, adjacent to Barnard’s picturesque Lehman Lawn, The Diana Center unites landscape and architecture, interior and exterior. The seven-story building, with its ascending double-height glass atria and unfolded glazed staircase, brings in natural light and views and erases visual boundaries between the College and the City.

The Diana Center’s innovative wedge-shaped design frames a clear sightline from one end of the campus to the other, linking for the first time Barnard’s historic entrance gates to Milbank Hall.?The facade, composed of 1,154 clear and etched color glass panels of varying widths, translates the brick and terra cotta of the surrounding neighborhood into a luminous, energy-efficient exterior. The gradient patterns of transparency and opacity that comprise the curtain wall create constant shifts in hue and reflectivity throughout the day, giving Barnard a dynamic presence on Broadway. “The collaboration between landscape and building has been the driving force behind the design for The Diana Center,” said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, principals of Weiss/Manfredi. “We envisioned the Center as an open lens that would showcase the activities and programs at Barnard and make them visible, enhancing the College’s dynamic relationship to the City.”

The Diana Center extends Lehman Lawn horizontally and vertically by way of descending planted terraces. The green roof, with its pavilion and open patio, offers an ecological learning center for Barnard’s Biology and Environmental Science students, as well as an intimate venue for gatherings and social events. The building maximizes daylight and incorporates operable windows, radiant flooring and recycled materials to achieve optimal comfort and control. Occupancy sensors, automated shading and high performance mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems increase efficiency.??With inviting landscaped elements, the public café and enhanced programming offerings, The Diana Center will be an important new community destination. The black box theatre features reconfigurable seating for 100 and the 500-seat oval event space will be home to Barnard’s acclaimed series of free public lectures, that has brought such luminaries to campus as retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Nobel Laureates Toni Morrison and Elie Wiesel.