Rockefeller University’s Modular Expansion
In June this year, work got underway on Rockefeller University’s modular expansion over the FDR Drive. The first phase of this convention-bending project would see the installation of 19 prefabricated sections over the course of the summer. In June, we gave you a glimpse at the first of those sections being fitted on top of the highway, and now thanks to photographer Max Touhey, who is shooting the project for builder Turner Construction, we have several more photographs of the construction process.
The Rafael Viñoly-designed expansion will stand two-stories tall and stretch three blocks, standing adjacent to the university’s current campus. Known as the The Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Research Building, it’s part of an overall $500 million expansion effort on part of the university, which will see the addition of two acres to its already existing 14-acre campus.
The overall addition will be known as the The Stavros Niarchos Foundation–David Rockefeller River Campus and include an academic center, a conference center, and a dining area in addition to the research building. The research building will have space for state-of-the-art laboratories, which will be used for the university’s scientific and educational programs.
After some concern and pushback from the local community on the expansion, the university’s expansion will also include the renovation of the East River Esplanade stretching from East 64th Street to East 68th Street.
Installation on the modular sections got underway early June and wrapped up on August 16. Construction on the overall project, which will add 160,000 square feet of space to the campus, is expected to wrap up in the spring of 2019.
NOTE: The photos below are in chronological order from when the modular sections were built in New Jersey in May to the final sections being installed in August.