Prominently sited overlooking Long Island Sound, the Maritime Academic Center symbolizes SUNY Maritime College’s prominent role in the increasingly global arena of nautical education and affairs. The signature design reflects the institution’s international reputation for creating dynamic leaders in such fields as global transportation, shipping, engineering, energy, the armed forces, and public service.

A showcase for sustainability, the center benefited from bioclimatic analysis, which informed design choices that helped reduce wind friction, conserve heat in winter, and provide natural cooling ventilation in summer. Operable windows throughout the building are fully automated. Extensive glazing brings natural light deep into the floor plate and illuminates the waterfront by night.

The center is organized into two primary wings. The larger, three-story wing houses classrooms, academic offices, supporting functions, and mechanical spaces. The smaller, single-story wing houses the multipurpose room and its attendant catering kitchen and mechanical rooms. Featuring dramatically tall ceilings clad in walnut baffles and acoustic wood wall panels, the multipurpose room is designed to be formal enough to accommodate high-profile conferences and functional enough for everyday use as a classroom.

A central atrium balances the dynamic tension between the conference and classroom wings. The structure, clad in local stone to reference the adjacent historic fort, appears to rise from the seawall it hugs. Visible to every passing ship approaching Long Island Sound and the East River, the building is a dynamic addition to the cityscape.