This calm and inviting rooftop terrace at Weill Cornell Medical Research Center in Manhattan is a place where researchers, staff and students can meet, relax and recharge.  The terrace, which spans over new and existing occupied space, serves as a second-story bridge between Ennead’s new Belfer Research Center and an ambulatory care facility. It’s also an internal campus green, a flexible event venue, and a hub that opens onto classrooms, conference rooms, study spaces, and a café.

Near the center of the terrace is a grove of honey locust trees, casting dappled shade on a raised wood deck.  A sleek, linear fountain runs the entire length of the grove; above it, hop vines climb up the building wall. The colorful chairs and tables can be moved around. Generously proportioned planters accommodate witch-hazel, fothergilla, ferns, bamboo, grasses and perennials, providing the aesthetic and environmental benefits of a planted roof.