Campus Revitalization

Learn more about Columbia’s flagship research building for the next decade.

Columbia is leading the current revolution in scientific discovery and patient care, now ongoing through such disciplines as cell engineering and therapy, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and much more. Our faculty expertise spans all the disciplines in basic, translational, and clinical research that are needed to deliver new treatments that will transform the way we approach disease.

To amplify our power to impact human health, we are constructing a new biomedical research building, the Vagelos Innovation Laboratories. Located in Washington Heights and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), the building will have eight stories of state-of-the-art research facilities and laboratories, design features to encourage new research collaborations, and community engagement spaces.

The Vagelos Innovation Laboratories will be the center of Columbia’s research on diseases and development of novel treatments for such major health threats as neurodegenerative disease, autoimmune disease, metabolic disorders, heart disease, and cancer. 

In addition to providing state-of-the-art laboratory space, the building will be at the vanguard of the sustainability effort in biomedical science, as the first laboratory research facility in New York City with fully electrified building systems that will allow no new fossil fuels on site. Aligning with Columbia’s ambitious emissions and clean energy goals for 2030, the building will achieve a minimum of LEED Gold Sustainability Certification, with the aim to become carbon neutral before 2050, in line with New York Local Law 97.

If you would like to learn more about how to support the new biomedical research building at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, please contact our giving professionals, or consider making a gift today by giving online.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center recently embarked on a number of other exciting campus revitalization efforts.

As the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) marked its 250th anniversary, the opening of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center in 2016 heralded a new campus era for our school. This state-of-the-art building provides advanced learning resources for our medical and graduate students to achieve their potential as tomorrow’s top clinicians and biomedical scientists. Nurturing our students’ growth into leaders of academic medicine, the Vagelos Education Center helps ensure the lasting strength of VP&S in patient care, research, and medical education for the next quarter-millennium.

Combining these resources with social spaces and student services, the Vagelos Education Center is a bustling second home for students on campus. It fosters a dynamic culture of learning through its unique, multi-floor Study Cascade, which melds social and study spaces. This layout facilitates the small-group collaboration integral to our curricula, helping students hone the teamwork skills essential for the practice of modern medicine and its advancement through research. The cross-pollination of ideas between medical and graduate students will help Columbia continue graduating true physician-scientists, who will lead and improve patient care.

The Vagelos Education Center was championed by P. Roy Vagelos, VP&S‘54, and chair of the VP&S and Medical Center Board of Advisors. Designed to be an adaptable part of our campus for many years to come, the Vagelos Education Center has year-round climate control for energy efficiency and sustainable features targeting LEED Gold certification.

With its iconic design and beautiful green spaces for students to relax and recharge, the Vagelos Education Center kicked off a larger campus revitalization effort by Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Celebrating over 250 years of VP&S, we thank everyone who contributed to this vitally important project. Your generosity supports the future achievements of our graduates and our institution’s ongoing leadership of clinical care, research, and medical education—for the ultimate benefit of patients around the world.