ANN S. BOWERS COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, NY
SCIENCE
A cantilevered main entrance marks the convergence of site paths and welcomes students into a dynamic ground floor with high, wood-slat ceilings that create a warm and welcoming environment for learning and research.
Cornell A. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science creates a new campus precinct and an inviting destination for this fast-growing program reaching out to the larger community.
Situated at a key entry point of the campus, the building is designed not as a standalone facility but as an integral part of the broader campus framework and surrounding landscape. The ground level strengthens the connection between the precinct, campus, and community, featuring a permeable design that incorporates significant pedestrian pathways within the area, offering multiple entrances to the building and engages the larger community.
The research floors, connected to the existing Gates Hall, float above a lively, active ground floor and create quieter areas for teaching and collaboration.
The building expands the capacity of the College, providing classrooms, research laboratories, offices, a student services suite, collaboration spaces, event space, and a café within a 135,000 square foot building
Relevant Features:
• Maker and builder labs
• Research environments and computational labs
• Flexible research workspaces for collaboration and group projects
• Faculty offices, Classrooms, Conference rooms, Student services suite,Common areas and other informal meeting and gathering areas for both the town and the university
• Campus Integration and Placemaking
• Sustainable strategy: Mass Timber and Steel Hybrid Structure
High-Performance Envelope with Window-toWall Ratio of 37.6% allows for natural light and views while mitigating cooling loads through effective shading strategies
Bioswales improve stormwater management, and native planting reduces water consumption
PROJECT TYPE
New Construction
SIZE
135 000 gsf
COMPLETION
2026
SELECTED AWARDS
Chicago Athenaeum – Green Good Design Award, Winner, 2025
DNA Paris Awards, 2024 - Honorable Mention
The Bowers CIS enhances the campus plan and anticipates the eventual build-out of the site, providing flexibility as campus needs grow and change.
The new quad between Gates and Bowers is traversed by paths connecting building entries and is designed to host campus ceremonies, gatherings, and recreational activities.
The building expands the capacity of the College, providing classrooms, research laboratories, offices, a student services suite, collaboration spaces, event space, and a café within a 135,000 square foot building. An efficient plan with a net-togross coefficient of 0.65 defined a new standard for future academic buildings on campus. To anticipate the ever-changing needs of the College’s academic programs, the building integrates modularity within the structural frame, allowing for future adaptation and serving as model for future campus projects .
TYPICAL FLOOR
RESEARCH LABS
MEETING ROOMS
COLLABORATION OFFICES
FIRST FLOOR
CLASSROOM
COLLABORATION
MAKER LAB
The two wings of the building, which contain academic research offices and labs, are joined at the nodes by a suite of collaborative spaces on each of their upper floors. An
and exposed
Ground level spaces for interdisciplinary collaboration, social gatherings, and events are fully glazed on both sides, connecting to nature and making the building porous and inviting.
A variety of learning and research spaces meet the needs of the College’s multiple departments
At the ground level, a student “ramble” along the courtyard edge will provide a place for individual and small group study.
The porous ground floor houses flexible undergraduate classrooms that open onto a Commons, providing space for conferences and public events for up to 300 people.
“The vision of bringing together the computing, data science and information science disciplines in one complex seemed distant 5 years ago. This building makes it a reality and we are already seeing rich new intellectual collaborations developing… our faculty, students and staff love being in this space.”
— Kavita Bala Provost Cornell University, former Dean Bowers College of Computing and Information Science
