The trick to making a university center work in the middle of Manhattan, as more than one architect has learned in the past, is to develop a scheme for vertical circulation that creates a sense of community while still efficiently handling the deluge of traffic that occurs every time the bell rings and classrooms disgorge. SOM addressed this challenge deftly in the academic portion of the building by moving the stairs out from the core to the perimeter. On the building’s three street faces—14th Street, 5th Avenue, and 13th Street—glass-clad stairs slash diagonally through the otherwise orthogonal elevation. On the exterior, the stairs animate the building, broadcasting this hive of activity onto the grand stage of urban theater. On the interior, the stairs descend through a series of interlocking double-height spaces, visually orienting building users and furnishing large landings for congregation and serendipitous encounters.
Each of the stairs is actually two stairs, an open stair bundled with an enclosed fire stair running beneath. The fire stairs on the 14th Street and 13th Street faces link up with the traditional vertical fire stairs coming down from the dormitory, creating direct access to the street. The architects thought of this arrangement as analogous to a subway line, with the open stair acting as the local line and the fire stair providing express service out of the building. They also made ample use of fire-rated glass—120-minute walls and 90-minute doors—making the fire stairs visually display-worthy and reminding students that they are there to be used.