The center added 375,000 square feet to The New School campus in the form of classrooms, a 800-seat auditorium, a residence hall, and more.

A series of meandering stairways is meant to facilitate leisurely travel through the building. When rushing to class, students can use a traditional stair or skip-stop elevators.

The University Center of the New School, which opened in early 2014, includes a variety of energy-saving features. Only 35% of the exterior is glass in order to decrease solar heat gain while still letting in natural light. The building is designed to achieve 31 percent energy savings over a code-compliant school.

Created by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, University Tower at The New School in New York's Greenwich Village features a green roof, 20 percent recycled materials, and a banded brass face and lower-than-average glazing ratio (31.5 percent compared to the typical 70-80 percent) to minimize the energy impact of the city's volatile climate.

University Center, The New School (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) This colossal new student and academic center at 14th and 5th adds 375,000 square feet of space to The New School. It also counters the concept of a faceless, city campus high-rise with "activity quads" and a series of dynamic, exposed staircases, allowing the hum of activity at the progressive school to be visible from the equally bustling Union Square sidewalks below.

Architect Stefano Girodo explains the building has a “completely prefabricated and modular structure.” It was built using recyclable and environmentally friendly materials and designed to ensure easy mechanical assembly once on site.

The firm also designed the kitchen, which was fabricated by Thomson Cabinetry.

Sunday's winner Diane Lee.

The "Tippy Cup Rain Chain" teaches the children about water conservation.

Girodo describes LEAPfactory’s architecture as being “molded according to the needs and stresses imposed by context.” In this setting, strong winds and snow loads are serious concerns. The shell’s composite sandwich panels and aluminum shingles ensure that the school can withstand the elements.

You don't need a full greenhouse to successfully grow herbs, just a dedicated spot that will get at least six hours of sun a day. In fact, your indoor herb garden can be as simple as a row of potted plants.

Mithun designed the tree house so that it would tread lightly on the land. The firm originally considered prefabricating the entire structure offsite but, in the research process, concluded that craning large modules into place would potentially harm the canopy. A combination of a bolted-together prefab structure and site-built wood housing yielded the least intrusive construction option. The Summit Bechtel Reserve is located in West Virginia's coal mining country. The architects looked to the local structures—bridges, mining apparatus, and other industrial buildings—to inform the tree house's design. A 166-ton Cor-Ten steel megastructure supports the 125-foot-tall building. The use of regionally appropriate materials, like steel and black locust wood, was important to the architects.

Visitors scale a series of outdoor staircases that wind their way up the structure. Volume and Studio Terpeluk turned the risers into a teaching moment about energy use and the impact of every day activities.

Mithun wanted to engage the scouts with all elements of the forest: the floor, the canopy, and a perspective above the tree tops. In one of the viewing rooms, visitors get the feeling of being fully surrounded by leaves.

The structure's mission is to teach visitors about the environment and sustainability. San Francisco–based studio Volume designed the exhibition program, which offers interactive displays about water conservation, energy use, recycling, and more.

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Benjamin Moore's Vintage Vogue paint coats the exterior.

With every material and system in the self-sustaining six-story, 52,000-square-foot Bullitt Center evaluated toward the goal of net-zero energy, water, and waste, this Seattle office building is the largest certified Living Building.

The plan of the Ames center.

Archtober kicked off Building of the Day, a 31-day tour that highlights impressive architecture from all five boroughs, with the Collaborative Research Center at Rockefeller University. The modern biomedical research center features an airy seven-story atrium designed by Mitchell | Giurgola Architects.

One of Brooklyn's most acclaimed theater companies, the Theatre for a New Audience recently relocated to the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, an H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture–designed structure worthy of the troupe's reputation.

Wrapped in white and blue Carrarra marble, this public center has been called one of Aalto’s most important works in Germany, boasting a roof terrace that plays off the idea of a public square.

The Brooklyn Expo Center is the show's new home.

The Pompidou Center in 1977. Image copyright Martin Charles, courtesy of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Dedicated in 1897 as Chicago’s first public library, the Chicago Cultural Center‘s scholarly opulence more than fits in on Michigan Avenue. On an architectural level, the Beaux Arts-influenced design is as ornate as they come, complete with grand, red-carpeted staircases, Romanesque arches, and the largest Tiffany glass dome in the world, measuring 38 feet across. In addition to its intrinsic attraction, the center is one of Chicago’s most visited museums and features an eclectic array of art exhibits, live music, and dance performances. Admission is free. Photo by: Susan DeMark

Model of the center's floorplan.

One-inch-thick slate clads the fireplace in the living room, which opens to a terrace. The reclaimed coffee table is by Scott Chambers.

A small kitchenette comes complete with a cook top and oven. White oak wood flooring is used throughout, as a standard feature.

A core element of the design scheme is a series of outdoor classrooms and play areas.

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Light will stream through the pathways between classrooms at Kokokali school.

Hufft Projects designed and fabricated these assistive mobility school chairs for students at the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired in Kansas City. These CNC routed Baltic birch chairs come in two different sizes and feature custom upholstered leg dividers.

The School of Dance designed by Porro.

Interested in attending Dwell on Design New York? Get your show passes now for a chance to participate in three days of discussions, installations, and more.