Catherine Commons residential community Ithaca USA, New York housing architecture photos

Catherine Commons Residential Community in Ithaca

July 23, 2023

Design: ikon.5 architects

Location: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Photos: Brad Feinknopf

Catherine Commons Residential Community, NY

Catherine Commons is an apartment-style residential community for the Cornell University off-campus student population in the Collegetown district of Ithaca, New York.

The project consists of six residential buildings located on two adjacent sites: Catherine North and Catherine South.

Prominently lining the main artery of College Avenue and gracefully stepping down in height towards residential neighborhoods and the City of Ithaca, Catherine Commons includes studio, 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments, all with private bedrooms and bathrooms and access to retail and recreational amenities including a fitness center and indoor and outdoor community courtyards.

The buildings set themselves apart from other large-scale student housing in the vicinity, with many of the ground floor corners open to the street to provide double-height public gathering spaces that promote social interaction with the community. Furnished with informal seating that is nearly always in use, these entranceways are monumental, yet still feel comfortable.

Catherine North encompasses three buildings connected via an open metal pedestrian bridge. An eight-story structure provides commercial spaces on the first floor and multi-family residential units above, while the other two buildings, both four stories, are designated solely for residential use. At ground level, openings between these buildings promote physical and visual connections to an interior courtyard.

At Catherine South, three buildings step down in height as grade falls along College Avenue and Cook Street. Two buildings comprise seven stories of multi-family residential units with a ground level fitness center.

The other building is residential in form and scale, with a pitched roof, shingles, smaller-scaled windows and dormers, and a projected front porch.

This three-story building is set back from the street to align with neighboring houses, and to complement the Collegetown vernacular.

All six buildings include a playful mix of window sizes and incorporate colorful, high-quality materials such as vertical metal panels with protruding fins, and terracotta bricks in unique, eye-catching patterns.

Catherine Commons Residential Community in Ithaca, New York – Building Information

Architects: ikon.5 architects – ikon.5 architects

Building Exterior:
Terracotta wall tiles: Ludowici
Standing-Seam Metal panels: Atas
ACM Composite Metal Panels: Alpolic
Metal Shingles: Atas
Aluminum Curtain Wall & Storefront: Kawneer
Aluminum Windows: Quaker
Vinyl Windows: Paradigm
Glazing: Guardian Glass
Granite Stone Cladding: StonePly
Composite insulated sheathing panel: Hunter Panels Xci Ply
PVC Roofing Membrane: Duro-Last
Louvers: Greenheck
Building Systems:

Floor Joist & Deck System: Nucor Ecospan
Prefabricated Floor Panels: Duraframe
Prefabricated CFMF wall panels: Duraframe
Steel form rated stair system: Vulcraft RediCor
Gypsum Cement Underlayment: Arcosa
Retaining Wall Systems: Versa-Lok
Elevators: Schindler
Interior Finishes:
Solid Surfaces: Corian
Plastic Laminate: Wilsonart
Intumescent Fireproofing: Contego
VCT: Armstrong
LVT: Shaw
Flooring Accessories: Tarkett
Modular Carpet: Tarkett
Painting: Sherwin-Williams
Rubber Sports Flooring: ECOsurfaces ECOmax
Acoustic Panel Ceiling: Armstrong

About ikon.5 architects
ikon.5 architects is a design-focused practice that provides its clients with innovative design solutions that exhibit a high level of craft, are aesthetically refined and carefully detailed, and achieve design excellence. Practicing nationally, their clients include colleges and universities, non-profit organizations, cultural institutions, governmental bodies, and global corporations.

ikon.5 works collaboratively with experts and users to distill an architecture that responds to a broad constituency, is uniquely tailored to its setting, and connects people with places and activities in meaningful ways. The three founding principals of the firm work directly on all projects with highly talented project architects. Their collaborative working style, unwavering commitment to design excellence, and exceptional client service has resulted in a high level of return clients (50%) and has earned the firm over 100 global design awards, as well as multiple nominations for the National Design Award by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and recognition as one of the top design firms in the United States by ARCHITECT magazine.

Photography: Brad Feinknopf

Catherine Commons Residential Community, Ithaca, New York images / information received 230725 from v2com newswire

ikon.5

Location: Cornell University, Ithaca, Finger Lakes region, NY, USA

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