Construction Watch: Bowery Gets Look at Hot Mesh

The Cooper Union's new academic building just south of Astor Place has been reflecting its surroundings for a while now, but the crazy creation of architect Thom Mayne's Morphosis firm had yet to show its meshy membrane to the Bowery. Cut to late last week, when workers finally started installing the outer layer of semi-transparent mesh screen on the building's good side. This layer will help control daylight—playing God are we, Cooper Union?—and create coolness in summer and warmth in the winter. It's one of the many green features on this new lair of learnin', but as you'll be reminded in the renderings tucked into the photo gallery above, the building won't really come out looking like mesh.
· Morphosis Reflects Old on New at Cooper Union [Curbed]
· The Cooper Union Builds [cooper.edu]For more stories from Curbed, go to curbed.com.