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Schwartz Center Plaza Project - Design Concept 1

Schwartz Center Plaza Project - Design Concept 2

Vision: Reimagining the Plaza

Cornell University envisions a refurbished, public plaza in front of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts on College Avenue in Collegetown. The plaza was designed in 1989 as part of the entry sequence to the Schwartz Center by James Stirling of Stirling & Wilford Associates, an internationally-renowned architecture firm from London. The original design proposed a lively forecourt, perhaps hosting merchants in an open market.

Today, the plaza is an underutilized, sunken concrete patio with a four-foot high separation wall dividing a lone bicycle rack from the public sidewalk. Located in the Collegetown in the City of Ithaca - a largely undergraduate neighborhood that is experiencing significant new development - the new plaza promises a sorely needed public gathering space for students, residents, and visitors.

This project is expected to serve as a catalyst for an enhanced pedestrian boulevard along College Avenue, the primary pedestrian gateway to the University. The Schwartz Center plaza redevelopment is conceptualized as a key node within a larger, future Collegetown public realm enhancement that includes: a new "Collegetown Walk" linear pedestrian park along the Cascadilla Gorge connecting to the recently refurbished gorge trail as well as a restored historic Eddy Gate plaza. This pedestrian-focused vision proposes both public safety and quality of life improvements plus the opportunity for real placemaking at the Schwartz Center - a strategic nexus where Cornell and the Ithaca community meet.

Project Scope:

This vision for a new plaza will be realized through creative design that includes: removing he wall that separates the plaza from the sidewalk, introducing permeable connections from the sidewalk into the plaza, providing attractive seating and landscaping that will help define a new distinct space for programmed and passive activities.

Key project goals:

  • Create an important new public place supporting neighborhood livability in Collegetown
  • Respect the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts architectural character
  • Enhance the pedestrian environment to accommodate heavy pedestrian circulation and existing transit stop
  • Coordinate access needs on site, including bike parking, ADA, and maintenance for cleaning and snow removal
  • Integrate new plaza into the busy commercial College Avenue corridor

Team:

The Schwartz Center plaza project is a collaborative effort co-funded by Cornell’s division of Infrastructure, Properties and Planning (IPP) together with the Student Assembly Infrastructure Fund (SAIF). The Steering Committee guiding the effort includes representatives from IPP, SAIF as well as the College of Arts and Sciences and faculty from the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. The lead firm selected to develop the design and construction documents for the project is Ithaca-based Trowbridge, Wolf, Michaels Landscape Architects, LLP.

Project Timeline:

  • Fall 2016 - Plaza Design through public participatory process
  • Winter 2017 - Technical Documents / Municipal Approvals
  • Spring 2017 - Bidding and Award of Project
  • Summer 2017 - Plaza Construction