At Syracuse, the First Amendment Etched in Glass

A nighttime view of Newhouse III at Syracuse University (Polshek Partnership Architects)

Syracuse University is opening a new building for its well-known communications school. Newhouse III, as the building is called, is a 74,000-square-foot addition to Newhouse I and II, and it cost $31-million. It was designed by Polshek Partnership Architects.

The building is a curvy structure, with the words of the First Amendment etched into its glass walls. It will house various academic centers, including a center devoted to studying television and popular culture; a collaborative media room; an auditorium; new classrooms; and offices for student organizations. If anything is destined to be dated in the building, it would be the dining area. Someone decided it would be cool to name it “Food.com.”

John G. Roberts Jr., the Supreme Court’s chief justice, will speak at the dedication of the building on September 19.

Newhouse III under construction at Syracuse University (Polshek Partnership Architects)