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Ithaca Campus

Cornell University's main campus is in Ithaca, NY, a small city with a big city outlook. The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning is situated at the top of the Arts Quad, where students, faculty, and staff find a balance between a quiet place for deep focus and lively spaces for building community around collaboration and discovery.
Students working under a large tree in fall

With about 29,000 year-round residents, Ithaca is remarkable for the diversity and erudition of its population, its commitment to the arts and civic life, and its natural beauty. AAP’s physical campus footprint includes The Foundry, Milstein Hall, Rand Hall, Sibley Hall, and Tjaden Hall.

book stacks in a contemporary library
Mui Ho Fine Arts Library.
brightly lit interior concrete walkway and stairs
Ho Family Bridge in Milstein Hall. image / Iwan Baan
Aerial view of campus
Aerial view of the Cornell University Arts Quad looking toward Cayuga Lake.

Sibley Dome

New and Renewed

The renovation of Sibley Dome began in June 2024 and is currently underway. The project’s anticipated completion date is spring 2026. When finished, the dome will house new and updated teaching, learning, and gathering spaces while preserving historical details. 

Learn More
  • Cantilevered auditorium framing with construction workers inspecting the framing.
  • View through metal scaffolding upward toward a dome.
  • Interior of a building looking upward toward a dome with exposed framing.
  • Overhead view of a balcony with metal framework and scaffolding.
  • Interior of a building with a brick wall and exposed wood framing on the floors.

Mui Ho Fine Arts Library

A Landmark Library

Thanks to a generous gift from AAP alumna Mui Ho (B.Arch. ’66), the Mui Ho Fine Arts Library in Rand Hall welcomes patrons to one of the country’s most extensive circulating collections of fine arts and design materials. Opened in 2019, the library was designed by architect Wolfgang Tschapeller (M.Arch. ’87), whose goal for the project was a 21st-century interpretation of the grand reading rooms associated with great research collections.

  • library stacks
  • patrons seated in a library
  • students working on laptops at library carrels
  • portrait of Mui Ho and Frances Shloss
  • student seated on the floor between book stacks
  • brick building from across a street

The Mui Ho Fine Arts Library, a state-of-the-art facility with massed stacks of books as its centerpiece, digital resources, and voluminous reading and study space.

A view through the stacks.

Students take advantage of the library’s open reading room with views of campus.

Eighteen individual study carrels are available for focused research.

Mui Ho ’62 (B.Arch. ’66), left, with Frances Shloss (B.Arch. ’45) at the dedication ceremony on September 9, 2019.

A student at work in the stacks.

Exterior view of the library, which occupies the upper floors of Rand Hall.

Milstein Hall

Built to Inspire

Designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA, Milstein Hall is home to the college’s architecture programs and is named in honor of philanthropist Paul Milstein. The building opened in 2011 and includes the 25,000-square-foot L. P. Kwee Studios, the Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall Dome, and the Howard and Abby Milstein Auditorium and Boardroom.

Milstein Hall weaves contemporary architecture through the college’s historic buildings, creating a dynamic landscape and a vibrant central meeting place that lends itself to collaboration.

  • Students seated on wooden steps
  • brightly lit interior concrete walkway and stairs
  • modern auditorium
  • Modern addition on an historic building
  • concrete interior with walkway
  • Modern addition on an historic building
  • Man instaling an exhibit in a gallery as viewed through a glass wall
  • elevator with large historic images installed on front glass
  • people in a concrete corridor seated on lit plastic domes
  • green planted rooftop

The Stepped Auditorium is an informal presentation and meeting space set within Milstein Hall’s open L. P. Kwee Studios. photo / Iwan Baan

The Ho Family Bridge links the main public entry of Milstein Hall to the auditorium and also serves as a viewing balcony into the dome critique space. photo / Iwan Baan

The Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium and Boardroom is a lecture and presentation space seating up to 250 people. The Lu Family Balcony provides space for additional seating and adds to its dynamic nature.

In addition to the cantilevered section on the south side of the building, the second floor of Milstein Hall hovers over University Avenue to the north.

Milstein Hall Dome connects the upper and lower floors and provides a striking space for critique, social gatherings, and other public activities.

On the west side of Milstein Hall an open-air metal clad stair tower contrasts the long horizontal upper plate. photo / Iwan Baan

Bibliowicz Family Gallery is an exhibition space located between the lower entry and the auditorium, lending public access and taking advantage of natural light from the sunken garden along its north facade.

 

Bruce Batkin (B.Arch. ’76) Elevator provides a 6-by-12-foot cab big enough to transport large models, drawings, and equipment between the studios and the lower-level dome and exhibition space.

The Duane and Dalia Stiller Arcade adds a public urban quality to Milstein Hall. The translucent seating pods invite informal gathering during times when the space is not used for outdoor teaching.

Milstein Hall’s Green Roof and Skylights are considered another facade, reinforcing the concept of the building as a connector.

Other Landmarks

stone building on a campus quad
Tjaden Hall from the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.
people viewing hung paintings
The Foundry.
large robotic arm in a wood shop
Autodesk Design and Make Space in Rand Hall.
Stone building with white dome
Sibley Hall.

Sibley Hall

Divided into three parts — the west wing, the dome, and the east wing — Sibley Hall is home to the Department of City and Regional Planning, several of the college’s administrative offices, the John Hartell Gallery, Frances Shloss Studio, classrooms and exhibition spaces, shared work spaces, and the beloved Green Dragon Cafe.

Tjaden Hall

Olive Tjaden Hall houses the Department of Art, the Olive Tjaden Gallery, the Experimental Gallery, numerous classrooms and art studios, various labs, and a darkroom. The building is named after Olive Tjaden Van Sickle (1925), a pioneering woman architect and artist whose substantial gift made the 1998 renovation of the building possible.

The Foundry

The Foundry, a protected historic building on the edge of the Cascadilla Gorge, was completely renovated in 2024 and comprises the M.F.A. in Creative Arts student studios as well as the college’s newly named Jack Squier Sculpture Studio.

Rand Hall

In addition to the impressive Mui Ho Fine Arts Library, Rand Hall houses Cornell AAP’s state-of-the-art fabrication facilities, including the Autodesk Design and Make Space, which was named and supported thanks to a 2025 gift from Autodesk.

Cornell University’s Ithaca Campus

Cornell’s main campus provides a wide variety of opportunities and unique offerings across a dynamic range of departments and subject areas. Students are encouraged to explore all that the university has to offer during their time in Ithaca.

Learn more about the university’s Ithaca campus.

Beyond Campus

Located at the south end of Cayuga Lake — the largest of the Finger Lakes — Ithaca boasts unsurpassed natural beauty in its gorges, state parks, and waterfront.

Collegetown and the Ithaca Commons are a short walk from campus, offering a city atmosphere with shopping, restaurants, cultural activities, and nightlife. Between urban life and alluring countryside, Ithaca has something for everyone to see and do.

Learn more at Visit Ithaca.