Peter Schubert
Visiting Instructor
Peter Schubert is a Partner in Ennead Architects International LLP. Throughout his thirty-year career, he has designed award-winning buildings both in the United States and abroad that include a range of types, including commercial, hospitality, science and technology and master planning. Current projects include an academic project in Seoul, Korea and a commercial project in Nanjing, China.
Prior to joining Ennead Architects in 2012, Mr. Schubert was the North American Design Director at Hillier / RMJM for ten years, responsible for the design of all projects undertaken by the firm’s four offices, including major projects with sites in the US, Asia and Europe. Recently completed works are the Alexandria Center for Science and Technology at East River Science Park in New York City, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and two projects for Duke University/National University of Singapore in Singapore.
Mr. Schubert received the 2004 AIA Honor award from the New Jersey chapter for his work on the LG Electronics Seocho Research and Development Campus in Seoul, Korea. The 1,200,000 gsf, 25-story glass and steel tower has a sleek profile emblematic of LG’s status as a leader in cutting-edge technology.
Prior to joining RMJM, Mr. Schubert worked at Kohn Pedersen Fox where he won numerous awards, including the Certificate of Engineering Excellence from the New York Association of Consulting Engineers for the Mellon Bank Center (1991), a Design Citation from 38th Annual Progressive Architecture Awards for the World Bank Headquarters (1990), and both the Award of Merit in Design and Manufacturing Excellence from the Architectural Precast Association (1990) and Best High-rise/Urban Building from the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (1988) for his work on the 500 E Street project.
Mr. Schubert is currently a visiting faculty member at The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union and has taught at Catholic, Cornell and Columbia universities. Previously, he was the Director of Programs and Strategic Planning for the AIA New York Chapter. Mr. Schubert is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, NCARB, New York State Association of Architects, Architectural League of New York, Society of Architectural Historians and the Society for Historic Preservation.
Born in Evanston, Illinois, he attended The Ohio State University as an undergraduate and received his Master’s Degree in Architecture from Columbia University. He won the Apha Rho Chi medal for Outstanding Student Leadership and Academic Performance at Ohio State and the AIA Certificate for Outstanding Future Professionals upon completion of his graduate studies at Columbia.
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.
