Ramapo College of New Jersey - Adler Center

The new Adler Center for Nursing Excellence provides a state-of-the-art teaching and research facility for Ramapo College’s growing School of Nursing. Prominently sited at the terminus of the main campus entry, the building and surrounding landscape act as a threshold, ushering students and visitors through the vibrant campus grounds. Responding to Mitchell Giurgola’s bold architecture, the landscape includes a structured grove, planted stairs and an adaptive plant palette.

The grand stair connects the entry drop-off with the larger campus. This arrival gateway serves as a transitional space, while also addressing a natural grade change. It further provides an area for interdisciplinary outdoor learning and a place for students to connect to nature.

Benches and seating nooks off of the grand stair offer dramatic vistas of the surrounding hillside. With two-story high glass walls, the Center’s lobby and interior stair are linked, merging indoor and outdoor activities. A grove of seasonal trees engages the surrounding landscape, frames the seating area, and strengthens the connection to the campus beyond.

The Adler Center addition also creates a new upper courtyard, featuring two monumental sculptures by American artist Ned Smyth. The dynamic sculptures create dramatic tension between the immediate pedestrian activity and the framed portal to the countryside vista. Native plant materials and paving materials connect the new landscape to the existing campus, creating a cohesive landscape plan.

Location
Ramapo, NJ

Size
136,000 SF

Completion
2015

Collaborators
Mitchell Giurgola Architects

Recognition
2016 Engineering News - Record NY Best Project