VOL. 9 • NO.1 • FALL 2012 • NEWS ON PROJECTS AND IMPROVEMENTS AT WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE
W eill Cornell Medical
College’s new Belfer
Research Building will use sustainable materials, highly efficient mechanical systems, and green construction technologies to achieve a LEED Silver rating.
The building envelope is designed to maximize energy efficiency and features a high-performance, double-skinned, fritted glass curtain wall with openings and sun-shading devices that will enhance visual and thermal comfort. The building design includes provisions for natural light, ample yet effective space design, and the functional use of sustainable materials to enhance the quality of life within the building. Energyefficient HVAC, lighting control and water-conservation systems will enable the Belfer Research
Building to realize a savings of
30 percent on energy and a 26 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. ®
A publication of Weill Cornell Medical College’s Office of Capital Planning — Produced by the Department of Public Affairs, (212) 821-0560

W eill Cornell Medical
College students this year are enjoying improvements to their lounging areas.
Capital Planning is in the midst of completing two projects that will provide medical students with cozier, modern and more appropriate lounging and meeting spaces.
The first is a modernized and expanded student lounge in Olin Hall, the first-year dorm. The existing lounge, with a pool table and ping pong table, had a recreation-room feel, while the furniture there was a bit dated.
“At the students’ request to the dean, they felt there wasn’t enough quality space dedicated to student lounging,” said Louis Kennedy, project director of Capital Planning. “We did our best to comply with students’ wishes.”
Per student suggestions to create a more functional space conducive to holding events, the Medical College expanded the TV/meeting lounge area about 200 square feet and enclosed it, while an adjacent room used primarily by the Music and Medicine program has been updated and its storage space expanded to accommodate events.
Capital Planning replaced the ’70s furniture with modern soft seating, comfortable sofas and café tables that can easily be rearranged to suit students’ needs.
In addition to the student lounge at Olin Hall, Capital Planning renovated Archbold Commons to provide students with a quieter meeting space.
The Medical College has divided the 2,300 square feet of space in half, giving access to the south side of the Commons to medical students only via their ID cards. Capital Planning also added lighting and art to make the space feel more like a lounge. The south side of the space will now be called the Student Lounge in Archbold Commons . ®
A new pediatric sleep center dedicated to mapping the sleep patterns of children from infancy to young adults opened on the second floor of 425 E. 61st Street in July.
While an adult sleep center exists on the fifth floor of that building, the Department of Pediatrics identified the need for an individual, more child-friendly space for pediatric sleep studies.
Temporary space in Helmsley Tower was secured for physicians to see patients while Capital Planning got to work on the permanent space, which now features three sleep rooms, each with individual bathrooms and sleepers for parents. The rooms, two of which were converted from offices, are outfitted with specialized sleep-monitoring equipment connected to a control room where a registered or board-certified sleep technician can monitor the patient. A waiting room or lounging area was also developed.
“With this new space,” said Project Manager Nicholas Chin,
“we were able to increase studies. As opposed to seeing one person, we can see three overnight visits in space that’s open all week long, seven days a week.”
Weill Cornell recently replaced the positron emission tomography and computational tomography (PET/CT) scanner and created a new Inveon scanning lab to keep up with rapid advances in technology.
Since the opening of the Citigroup Biomedical Imaging Center nearly 10 years ago, technology has made remarkable advances.
The previous PET/CT scanners were replaced earlier this year with new and more powerful units. A state-of-the-art Inveon-style scanning suite was constructed to accommodate the equipment. Some modifications were made to the existing building in support of the installation and operation of the new equipment.
Acquisition of the new PET/CT scanning equipment supports the on-going recruitment of talented faculty for the three departments supported by the Citigroup Biomedical Imaging Center.
The new equipment also supports research efforts for recently awarded grants. ®
• The Weill Cornell Human Resources Department relocated last year from Olin Hall to 575 Lexington,
Suite 690. The department’s new phone number is
(646) 962-9247. Interoffice mail can still be sent to
Box 59 or by regular mail to 1300 York Ave., Human
Resources, Box 59, New York, NY 10065 — the department’s official address.
• Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar’s New York office relocated from 575 Lexington to Olin Hall,
Suite 432, last spring. The new office address is 445
E. 69th St., Suite 432, Box 29, New York, NY, 10021.
The new telephone number is (646) 962-4950.
• The Weill Cornell Office of University Counsel relocated from Olin Hall’s Suite 432 to Suite
405 down the hall last spring. The office’s phone number, (212) 746-0463, has remained the same, while the mailing address has been updated to 445
E. 69th St., Suite 405, Box 27, New York, NY, 10021.
• The Weill Cornell Mailroom relocated from
B-013/B-015 to the former storage space at
C-0013 late last year.