Acoustics matter everywhere, especially for a structure that sits above a busy New York City MTA subway line. To reduce the trains’ noise and vibration impact to the building, we incorporated isolation materials at the columns and foundation walls. The custom curtain wall acts as a barrier to keep traffic noise out so that it is not a nuisance to the classrooms and housing. The instructional spaces and quiet/focus areas are further furnished with acoustically absorptive finishes such as acoustic ceilings, stretched fabric systems and fabric wrapped panels to maximize speech intelligibility and create comfortable spaces for studying and learning.
The common areas of the campus are strategically designed to foster connections between people and encourage interactions among NYU’s diverse community. Furnished with kiosks that enable digital signage and wayfinding, as well as ceiling speakers for playing background music and broadcasting events, the lobbies offer wide open spaces and seating for students to find respite from the hustles and bustles of the campus. Open lounges scattered throughout the building are perfect places for individual or group work, preparing for a class or catching up with friends and colleagues. Some lounges even feature large LED displays and speakers dedicated for movie screenings.
One of the highlights of the sports complex is the four-court gym, which can be used simultaneously and independently and can accommodate a multitude of programs, functions and events. Each court is equipped with large video displays used for hyping content and game replays, ceiling mounted cameras that track the movements of players, and advanced audio and sound systems, including ceiling hung, large line array speakers that you can find in Madison Square Garden! Diverse sound reduction techniques are employed to the athletics center to ensure students will never hear what’s behind closed doors—from floating floor construction to robust walls and doors, to isolated ceilings—these features will help avoid noise transfer between spaces.
