The groundbreaking net-zero energy NYCTech Campus designed as a collaborative project between Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Cornell University will also be one of the world’s most environmentally-friendly campuses.
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has earned considerable esteem as a world leader in clean technology – a reputation that matched Cornell University’s vision for a state-of-the-art net-zero energy hub in New York City. Representatives of the two learning institutes conducted clandestine meetings in order to create and submit what turned out to be an irresistible proposal for an international competition to design a new Applied Sciences Graduate School on Roosevelt Island.
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially announced this winning partnership at the end of 2011, and classes are expected to begin as soon as September this year. The Technion sent us YouTube clips of the aerial and interior views of the new campus. Take a look after the jump!
Groundbreaking Net-Zero Energy Tech Hub Planned for NYC
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkN1aysdhdQ[/youtube]
There are several reasons the Technion/Cornell bid blew out the competition:
- According to a Technion press release, the new two million square foot science and energy hub is designed “to increase New York City’s capacity for applied sciences and dramatically transform the city’s economy.” The Israeli institute has already produced a bevy of entrepreneurial engineers and scientists that have put Israel squarely on the map – expertise that has proven invaluable.
- President Dr. David Skorton has leaned heavily on Cornell University’s longstanding elite presence in the city, and according to the New York Times, the university received tens of thousands of supporting signatures from one of the United States’ most powerful alumni.
- While other contenders wondered where they would receive their funds, Dr. Skorton managed to secure a phenomenal $350 million gift from Charles F. Feeny of Duty Free Shoppers that would pay for the first phase of the building project.
- And then the University’s board of trustees approved a $150 million venture fund that will get fledgling startups off the ground – an ingenious idea that even Stanford university could not match.
- The design competition called for an initial 250,000 square feet, according to NYT, but the Technion-Cornell team promised to start off with a whopping 400,000 square feet. Eventually their mammoth tech hub will accommodate 2,500 students and 280 professors.
An economic impact analysis reveals that “the campus will generate more than $7.5 billion (NPV) and more than $23 billion (nominal) in overall economic activity over the course of the next three decades, as well as $1.4 billion (nominal) in total tax revenue,” according to the Technion, which adds that the project will create up to 20,000 construction jobs and 8,000 full-time jobs.
600 spin-off companies are expected to generate roughly 30, 000 additional permanent jobs.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esBeepOTAxY[/youtube]
Stand Back Silicon Valley
Up until now, Silicon Valley has produced most of America’s best startups, but that is set to change as the NYCTech Campus will provide all of the necessary legal and financial conditions to help ripe new businesses focused on urban planning, medicine, advertising, and finance get off the ground. These will include a pre-seed financing program, legal support, partnership building, and business competitions designed to spur innovation.
Finally, we’ve saved the best for last. The Technion has also revealed that the NYCTech Campus will be among the most environmentally friendly campuses on earth.
If it were completed today, the hub would be the largest net-zero energy building in eastern United States, which energy will be derived from a 1.8MW solar array and 400 geothermal wells that will cool the buildings in summer and heat them in winter. The NYCTech Campus will not only employ the world’s most sophisticated environmental technology, but will also act as a living laboratory for the Built Environment hub.
More on Cleantech in Israel:
Massachussetts Governor Firms Up Ties With Israel’s Cleantech Superpowers
8 Israeli Companies Win Global Cleantech Award for 2011
A Mixed Bag for Israel’s Cleantech
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
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