Plenty of cities from around the world aim to be the next Silicon Valley. But only one has the backing of the actual Silicon Valley: Cornell is building a campus on New York City’s Roosevelt Island in an initiative backed by most major technology companies. The first designs of the proposed campus were recently released and Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan looked at some of the highlights:

• The campus will be built for 2,000 students and is expected to be completed in 2037.
• While it is going to be a university campus, there will be few classrooms. Instead there will be open spaces where students can collaborate and hopefully build the next big thing.
• The government even plans to house a representative from the patent office on the island to deal with the expected deluge of patent infringement complaints
• The campus will be energy neutral. Solar panels and energy generated by turbines in the east river will power the buildings.
• One concern is getting the building materials onto the island. New Yorkers won’t appreciate having the lone bridge to the island clogged up with construction vehicles.

Read more about the plans for the campus, the companies backing it, and some concept photos over here.

Source: Fast Co.Design