NEW YORK, NY – The Shawmut-built David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia University recently won both an International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) Award and an AIA New York Design Award.

The Brown Institute for Media Innovation accepted the IALD Award of Merit, honoring lighting projects that display high aesthetic achievement backed by technical expertise. To embrace the interconnected concept of the space, the lighting designers selected a series of intertwining luminous elements to build a network of ambient light for the room.

Additionally, Columbia University was recognized by the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter’s annual Design Awards for its outstanding architectural achievements.

The Shawmut team completed construction on Pulitzer Hall at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where 4,500 square feet of space was renovated to create an open plan area with small conference rooms, private offices on two levels, and new mechanical systems. The team made significant structural modifications to the original double-height ground floor suite to create the institute’s signature area—an open incubator space and new mezzanine. The incubator will encourage the development of new journalistic practices around media delivery and consumption using current and future technologies.

The new space provides the iconic school with a state-of-the-art multi-media newsroom that is a first of its kind in higher education.