The Andreu Building,Exterior Facade Rendering
NYU Tandon · Revit · LEED Platinum

The Andreu Building: Reconstructing Jacobs Hall as a Sustainable Campus Hub

Team of 3 Autodesk Revit $28M Budget LEED Platinum

Overview

As Project Manager for Doing Modern Design, I led a team of three in reimagining NYU's Jacobs Administration Building as a sustainable, technology-forward campus facility. Our mission was to innovate the city with a healthy relationship between technology and the environment,proving that high-performance sustainable design doesn't have to come with a billion-dollar price tag.

Using Autodesk Revit, we designed a complete building reconstruction targeting LEED Platinum certification. Every design decision balanced environmental performance, occupant wellness, and financial feasibility,delivering a $28 million project that stands in sharp contrast to comparable projects like NYU's $1.2 billion Paulson Center.

The Team

Mia AndreuProject Manager
David PalmaHead of Design
Dereck SotoHead of Analytics

Project Objective

Reconstruct the Jacobs Administration Building into a sustainable campus hub that integrates green building strategies, smart technology systems, and community-oriented spaces,all while achieving LEED Platinum certification and maintaining a realistic budget.

$28M
Total Project Cost
LEED Pt
Platinum Certification
6
Sustainability Systems

LEED Platinum Features

Solar Heat Gain Windows
High-performance glazing that reduces cooling loads while maximizing natural daylight throughout the building.
Smart LED Lighting
Occupancy-sensing LED systems that adapt to usage patterns, reducing energy consumption across all floors.
Reusable Rainwater System
Integrated rainwater collection and filtration for landscape irrigation and non-potable building use.
Heat Island Reduction
Green roof systems and high-albedo materials that lower surrounding temperatures and reduce urban heat island effects.
Advanced Security
Modern access control and monitoring systems integrated into the building's smart infrastructure.
Transportation Friendly
Bike storage, EV charging stations, and proximity to public transit to encourage low-emission commuting.

Design Highlights

Beyond meeting LEED requirements, we designed the building to serve as a true campus destination. The ground floor includes a vendor leasing area and café to activate the street level, while upper floors feature open collaborative areas and green space technology that bring nature into the workspace.

The Andreu Building full project poster

Full project poster , The Andreu Building

Cost Comparison

One of the most compelling aspects of this project is its financial feasibility. At $28 million, the Andreu Building demonstrates that sustainable, LEED Platinum design can be achieved at a fraction of the cost of comparable institutional projects. For context, NYU's John A. Paulson Center,a similar-scale campus building,carried a price tag of $1.2 billion.

This wasn't about cutting corners. It was about making smarter design choices: prioritizing passive strategies like solar heat gain management, selecting materials with long life cycles, and integrating systems that reduce operating costs over the building's lifetime.

What I Learned

Takeaway: Sustainable building design is not a luxury,it's a design discipline. By treating LEED Platinum as a constraint rather than an add-on, we proved that high-performance buildings can be cost-effective, occupant-friendly, and environmentally responsible at the same time.

Autodesk Revit LEED Platinum Sustainable Design Building Information Modeling Green Building Project Management NYU Tandon MEP Systems