Description

The project is unusual in that the process which directed its design and procurement was fully inclusive and local to the point where a new school typology can be discerned; not only is the result a true community building in that it accurately reflects the needs and aspirations of local people who bothered to get involved, it is also comparatively small and orientated towards the needs of people who are not necessarily in education themselves.

Initiated by community activists from the local arts board, the school developed through a series of workshops with board members, school staff and parents, which were organised by the architects. A key concern was how the school might integrate into the wider community; one response to this question was the suggestion that if the school had a gallery, local artists and students might use it. Thus new spaces were being added which aimed at a seamless crossover be­tween school and community. Then several buildings and vacant lots in the South Bronx were visited. Finally, an old sausage factory was selected mainly because of its location, but also because it provided large flexible accommodation with widely spaced columns throughout. One of the main ideas to emerge was the grouping of similar grade classrooms together around shared multi-use spaces, or as one participant described them, ‘hot pods’. In addition, all arts-related spaces were positioned in the centre of the scheme and along the main street façade, emphasising their importance and allowing them to be semi-permeable, by way of moveable partitions, to the surrounding halls and communal spaces, and readily accessible to members of the general public entering from the street.

The limitations of a confined factory building with its deep-plan form meant that there were very few oppor­tunities for conventional windows. The architects designed the building with a regular grid of north-facing openable skylights across the entire roof, which provided for modules of 45 degree south-facing translucent PV panels. The sustainability agenda was addressed with solar electricity generation, the use of re-cycled building products and certified sustainable wood products.

The end result is a building which is basic architecture on the outside, whereas on the inside there is an unusually spacious feel with high ceilings and larger than average teaching spaces. With exposed service ducts visible within the open ceiling void, up and over moveable wall panels it has funky light industrial feel, more like an advertising agency than a school. The challenge to site a school in an old factory building right at the heart of the community has been very successful. It functions both as a traditional school and a new community learning centre.

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Originally published in: Mark Dudek, Schools and Kindergartens: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2015.