Peter Schubert
Visiting Instructor
Peter Schubert was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1955. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1978, and a Master in Architecture degree from Columbia University in 1981. As RMJM’s U.S. Design Director, Peter Schubert oversees the design of all projects undertaken by the firm’s four offices. Honored numerous times throughout his career for excellence of design and engineering, Peter’s work focuses on transforming and enhancing the urban environment through designs consistently outstanding in their functionality and aesthetic appeal.
Responsible for the design of major projects in the U.S., Asia and Europe, his expertise transcends languages and borders in creating universally relevant designs that reflect a sensibility for their surroundings. Peter’s portfolio is representative of his extensive experience in the design of varied project typologies. His recent work includes Duke University/National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School in Singapore; Khoo Teck Hospital in Singapore; Alexandria Center for Life Science – New York City; Rohm & Haas China R&D Center in Shanghai; and Huawei R&D Campus in Wuhan, China.
Prior to joining RMJM, Mr. Schubert worked at Kohn Pedersen Fox, where he became a principal in 1998 and was the design lead on projects such as the First Hawaiian Bank Center in Honolulu, Hawaii; the GSA Atlanta Federal Center; and corporate headquarters facilities for the Samyang Foods Company and Posteel, both in Seoul. He was a staff architect at Jon Michael Schwarting and Associates (1981–82), where he was a member of the team that designed the Fashion Institute of Technology campus, which received the Progressive Architecture Award for an Urban Design Master Plan. He was also a staff architect at Petersen/Littenberg Architects (1982–83), and at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1983).
Peter has been recognized for his work at RMJM for the new Duke University/National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School in Singapore, which won the Honor Award from the AIA Pennsylvania Chapter (2007); the AIA New York Chapter Merit Award for the Rohm and Haas China R&D Center (2007); and the AIA New Jersey chapter Honor Award for LG Electronics Seocho R&D Center (2005). While at KPF, he also received the Certificate of Engineering Excellence from the New York Association of Consulting Engineers for the Mellon Bank Center (1991); and a Design Citation from 38th Annual Progressive Architecture Awards for the World Bank Headquarters (1990).
Mr. Schubert is a member of the American Institute of Architects, NCARB, New York State Association of Architects, Society of Architectural Historians, Society for Historic Preservation, and Architectural League of New York. He has taught at Columbia University, and at the Catholic University, in Washington, D.C. and Rome. He currently teaches ARCH 141, Design IV at the Cooper Union.
Projects & Links
ALEXANDRIA CENTER FOR LIFE SCIENCE
The Alexandria Center for Life Science at East River Science Park is an 870,000-square-foot center for commercial bioscience on Manhattan’s East Side. The Center aims to boost New York City’s biotech industry and create a thriving intellectual and social space with spectacular views of the East River waterfront. The design reflects the idea that some of the most successful working environments are characterized by cooperation, the active exchange of ideas and respect for their surroundings. A variety of spaces, some busy and active, others ideal for quiet introspection, were all designed to encourage scientific breakthroughs. The interconnectivity of public and private is a key component of this striking design.
The western portion of the Science Park is organized around 29th Street, which was realigned to the Manhattan grid and opened to both cars and pedestrians. The site culminates in a central piazza located at the heart of the science campus in the center of three research facilities. Just south of the piazza, the Winter Garden – a crystalline pavilion connecting the two primary biotech facilities – acts as the conduit between the East River Science Park and Bellevue Hospital and functions as a display space for art and performances.
Huawei R&D Campus
The proposed R&D campus for Huawei draws strongly upon the geography and culture of the project site and it’s location in the wider Yangtze River valley. A desire to reinforce this unique sense of place has led the design team to a solution based on a sensitive integration of architecture, topography and landscape.
Structured around a central valley form, the campus offers an environment that is highly secure, efficient and above all, focused upon the creation of a strong sense of community and the well being of it’s inhabitants. With over 270,000m2 of accommodation, the facility incorporates a holistic mix of research offices, specialist IT laboratories, staff training and canteen buildings and will house over 9,000 employees at its peak. Based upon a detailed understanding of the client’s operational needs, the planning is driven by a modular building typology that is repeated throughout the site. This offers a cost effective and flexible architecture that is completely adaptable to the ever changing requirements of future technology research. Whilst resonating with the historic gathering of communities along the Yangtze River, this 21st century campus will now provide a platform to cultivate successful and innovative telecommunications technology.
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital
Alexandra Hospital in Singapore, established in 1938, was renowned as one of the most modern hospitals in southeast Asia up through the 1970s. Today, RMJM’s design for the new 550-bed institution recreates the charm and ambiance of the pre-war facility while providing the highest level of staff efficiency in a patient-centered environment. The hospital also utilizes energy-efficient features which reduce energy costs by 50% and provide 70% of the floor area with the potential for natural ventilation.
As the premiere healthcare institution in the region, the hospital’s level of emergency preparedness and infectious disease isolation capability are important criteria shaping its planning and organization. The design reserves a significant portion of the first subterranean level for vital facilities such as triage, treatment, surgery and holding spaces, which are blast-protected. The ambulance and emergency areas are similarly outfitted for civil emergencies, incorporating large decontamination and quarantine areas with dedicated MEP systems.
The concept behind the aesthetic organization of Alexandra is driven by the utilization of the natural advantages of the site; given the benefits of natural surroundings, the design team developed the idea of “the Hospital in a Garden.” Yishun Pond itself grew to be a central feature of the design; inpatient units face the pond, whose shoreline is to be reclaimed for exercise paths and food pavilions. The pond provides a soothing waterscape view for staff and patients in the nursing towers at the eastern edge of the 32,000 square meter site, while the garden landscape greets visitors, patients and staff at the entry to Yishun Central Avenue at the western extremity. A series of planted terraces between upper floor patient towers culminate the “garden hospital” experience.
The marriage of cutting-edge security and safety features with the natural beauty of Yishun Pond and its surrounding environment results in a healthcare facility distinctive both in its aesthetic and in the quality of health care delivery.
