Center of Excellence, Syracuse, New York

By Asad Syrkett

The clamorous convergence of elevated highways I-81 and I-690, in the upstate city of Syracuse, New York, would be rather unremarkable were it not for the glass-fronted building nestled in the nook the interchange creates. This angular structure is the new Toshiko Mori Architect (TMA)-designed building for the ambitiously named Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (CoE), established in 2002. Much of Mori's work plays with contrasts in materiality: immense concrete and lightweight glass make equal appearances in her studio's commercial, residential, and institutional work. In this way, the CoE—which functions as both a test lab and a kind of green showroom hosting educational sessions and guided tours—is no different. What sets it apart from other Mori works is its careful integration of myriad sustainable bells and whistles and its clever reuse and renewal of a brownfield site.