Manhattanville College – Center for Design Thinking

Project Description

Manhattanville College’s Center for Design Thinking (D-School) is a 7,850-square-foot, two-story space that will house classrooms, a fabrication lab, offices, a kitchen and dining area, and a lounge. Once complete, this think-tank-like facility will allow Manhattanville to integrate design thinking principals into its undergraduate and graduate curricula.

Project Details

  • Client Manhattanville College
  • Location Purchase, NY
  • Use Classroom
  • Sq. ft. 7,850
  • Completed est. 2019

Manhattanville College’s Center for Design Thinking (D-School) is a 7,850-square-foot, two-story space that will house classrooms, a fabrication lab, offices, a kitchen and dining area, and a lounge. The D-School is located in a circa 1860 building that previously served as the President’s Cottage. Spillman Farmer is renovating the space to allow Manhattanville to integrate design thinking principals into its undergraduate and graduate curricula.

 

The goal of the…

Manhattanville College’s Center for Design Thinking (D-School) is a 7,850-square-foot, two-story space that will house classrooms, a fabrication lab, offices, a kitchen and dining area, and a lounge. The D-School is located in a circa 1860 building that previously served as the President’s Cottage. Spillman Farmer is renovating the space to allow Manhattanville to integrate design thinking principals into its undergraduate and graduate curricula.

 

The goal of the D-School is to create a think-tank of sorts; allowing students to work in a lab-like environment and using real-life problems drawn from Manhattanville’s alumni network and the local county’s business community. As part of this project, the College is also working with a global innovation firm to help identify curricular opportunities for applying design thinking principals. It is Manhattanville’s hope that the new Center will empower and enable their students to combine empathy, knowledge, and critical thought to create innovative solutions to business challenges, making them more attractive to potential future employers.

 

As part of the project, SFA’s team evaluated ways that these renovations could be carried out in a way that respected the history of the 150+ -year-old building. The team preserved much of the handcrafted wood trim throughout, and overcame the challenge of adding an elevator without negatively impacting the historic exterior aesthetic.