Location
1 Mead Way, Bronxville
Completion
2004
Client
Sarah Lawrence College
Square Footage
60,000 SF
Architect
Ennead Architects LLP
LEED
Certified
Sarah Lawrence College - Heimbold Visual Arts Center
Sciame was the Construction Manager responsible for the construction of the new Heimbold Center, which brings Sarah Lawrence’s visual arts department under one roof. While accommodating the schools various space needs, the design meets safety and environmental standards that make the new Visual Arts Center LEED compliant. The new Center has six studio spaces that will be used interchangeably for sculpture, painting, and visual fundamentals.
Other program elements include faculty offices, general teaching classrooms, a soundstage, a darkroom, print making facilities, a visual resources library, and a 200-seat auditorium. The building is integrated into the landscape and the surrounding campus through a design that is sensitive to the undulating topography of the campus and the scale of surrounding structures.
Entrances and exits to the Center are designed to encourage students and faculty to use the building as a passageway through the campus so that the visual arts can be integrated with daily academic and student life. The use of skylights and open spaces between levels reinforces a sense of transparency, allows sunlight to permeate throughout the building, and provides a view of artists at work.
Project Awards
AIA New York Building Type – Educational Facility Design Honor Award
Sustainable Design Merit Award
American Institute of Architects – NYS Chapter
Award for Excellence in Design
NY Construction News – Best of 2004
Higher Education Award of Merit
What a night! A huge thank you to everyone who came out on Wednesday to represent Team Sciame at the 2025 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Central Park!
Despite the weather, the Sciame team showed up strong, lacing up and powering through the 3½-mile course!
We’re proud of the determination, camaraderie, and good humor everyone brought to a soggy evening in the park.
#jpmcc
New York Construction’s Contractor of the Year – Looking back, 2006 was a standout year for Sciame Construction. We were honored as Contractor of the Year, a testament to our growing reputation for delivering some of New York City’s most architecturally daring and culturally significant projects.
In April 2006, Sciame Construction completed the Morgan Library and Museum Expansion, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and BBB Architects. The project was led by then EVP/Division Head Joseph Mizzi, who began his career at Sciame 11 years earlier in 1995.
The following month, our founder, Frank Sciame, passed the torch of day-to-day leadership by promoting Joseph Mizzi to President of Sciame Construction, while continuing to serve as Chairman and CEO.
This leadership transition helped shape the next chapter of our story, and was memorialized in the cover photo of New York Construction, and the firm’s Contractor of the Year honor.
Thanks a Half-Billion! – At Sciame Construction, we proudly led the effort to reimagine the WTC Memorial and Museum, a project of national significance. Frank Sciame, our founder, was tasked with creating a design that honored the original vision while staying within a $500 million budget. Working closely with Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, and a team of 13 advisers, including notable figures like Jack Rudin and Robert Douglass, we developed cost-effective design options, ultimately reducing the budget from nearly $1 billion to $510 million. Our approach preserved key elements like the voids, waterfalls, and pools while optimizing infrastructure and resizing the museum. Sciame’s commitment to excellence ensured a memorial that balances beauty, dignity, and sustainability.
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center – Though relatively small in size, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center was a technically complex project successfully constructed and delivered by Sciame Construction. This groundbreaking laboratory made an outsized impact on global health. It was here that Dr. David Ho pioneered the development of the revolutionary “AIDS cocktail,” a combination therapy that transformed HIV from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable condition. His groundbreaking work earned him the title of TIME magazine’s Man of the Year, underscoring the center’s profound contribution to the fight against the AIDS epidemic.
