New York Structural Biology Center
Phase III
New York, NY

32,000 SF • 3,000 Sq M

Davis Brody Bond worked with a consortium of ten major research institutions on the expansion of this world-class facility for cryogenic electron microscopy and ultra-high-field NMR spectroscopy. The members of the Structural Biology Center’s user consortium are: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Rockefeller University; The City University of New York; Columbia University; Wadsworth Center of the Dept. of Health; Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Weill Medical College of Cornell University; Yeshiva University; State University of New York; and New York University

Located on the City College campus in upper Manhattan, the Center serves the region’s large community of structural biologists. While previous project phases had renovated an existing gymnasium, our work adds a new purpose-built 32,000 sf building housing three Cryogenic Electron Microscopes, a computer imaging lab, and the most advanced cluster of high-field research magnets (NMRs) in the US.

The design meets stringent criteria for vibration, acoustics, temperature, and humidity.  Equipment rooms are fully shielded from electromagnetic interference. While the bulk of our work focused on technical resolution, we were also careful to use the site’s natural slope to accommodate the large NMR spaces while keeping the building in scale with context. The modest but well-composed exterior is of brick and standing seam metal to match the other campus buildings.

(Photography by Paúl Rivera)