all images courtesy of Syracuse University

Syracuse University had announcesd three finalists in competition to design the National Veterans Resource Complex. The new National Veterans Resource Complex (NVRC) selection Committee, made up of faculty, staff, students, and design professionals, recently reviewed the qualifications of 28 of the world’s foremost architecture firms. After careful consideration, the Selection Committee has selected three finalists to advance to the final round of the competition. The finalists are: Adjaye Associates, SHoP, and Snohetta. Notably, each of these firms is among the seven finalists currently vying for the opportunity to design the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago.

In the press release, “I want to thank the members of the Selection Committee for their hard work and dedication to identifying the right design partner for this critically-important project,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “The NVRC is a physical testament to Syracuse University’s commitment to supporting veterans and their families. I am confident the Selection Committee will find the right partner to bring this unique vision to life.”

Directing the design competition on behalf of Syracuse University is Martha Thorne, dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid. Thorne also serves as the executive director of the Pritzker Prize—the architecture award equivalent to the Nobel Prize.

“The three finalist firms and their teams are outstanding,” says Thorne. “I have no doubt they will propose ideas that go beyond traditional academic buildings and make the NVRC a pioneering facility that will contribute to the University, as well as the broader community.”

The winning firm of the competition will be announced in May.

Tentatively planned for the western portion of the Waverly block on the Syracuse University campus, the NVRC will house: the Syracuse University and Regional Student Veteran Resource Center; the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps; the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ‘Vet-Success on Campus’; the National Center of Excellence for Veteran Business Ownership; Veteran Business Outreach Center and Accelerator; and Syracuse University’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs.

The NVRC will include classroom spaces to accommodate local and national veteran-focused programming, along with a conference center and roughly 1,000-seat auditorium suitable to host community activities, lectures, and national convening events and conferences. The facility is also expected to include gallery space exhibiting the University’s storied legacy of serving America’s veterans. Designed as a LEED-certified facility and constructed in accordance with Universal Design practices, the NVRC will be an inclusive facility that welcomes and accommodates veterans and visitors with disabilities.

“Syracuse University’s ambition to make the NVRC a combined educational and community centre as well as a national hub for America’s 22.8 million veterans and their families resonates deeply with my own commitment to architecture that empowers communities and has global resonance,” says David Adjaye, principal at Adjaye Associates. “This is also an opportunity to enhance the context and future vision for the surrounding area – setting the highest precedent for subsequent development.”

“The NVRC at Syracuse University will occupy a special place in the life of the city, the campus, and the community of veterans nationwide it is intended to serve,” says SHoP principal William Sharples. “Everyone at SHoP is honored to be a part of this process.”

Craig Dykers, founding partner of Snøhetta says: “The poet RJ Heller once wrote, ‘In the aftermath we are because they were.’ Courage is contagious and being a part of this process at Syracuse to benefit our veterans in a groundbreaking new facility is exciting and humbling for all of us at Snøhetta. This is more than a handshake: we are doing something revolutionary for those whose origins are from the same stuff.”

As part of the design competition process, the selected firms will collaborate with the School of Architecture to present lectures – about their firms and their past work – to the campus community. These lectures are tentatively scheduled to take place in March, and will be open to the general public.

> via Syracuse University