L E A R N I N G P L A T F O R M S
a public school in new york’s east village
GSAPP CORE 3 STUDIO SPRING 2020
CRITIC BENJAMIN CADENA
SITE EAST VILLAGE, NEW YORK
SOFTWARE RHINO + AI + PS + PEN ON MYLAR
This project proposes to introduce a series of learning platforms for a K-8 school and the local neighborhood, which currently lacks safe and active community learning spaces.
On the ground, an urban connection between 9th and 10th street anchors the community platforms, i.e. the library, play spaces, and the gymnatorium, while also housing the two school lobbies. The platforms on the higher levels house the school’s learning spaces.
The two existing stair cores are preserved, and new timber structures become the spatial framework for the platforms. In contrast to typically enclosed learning spaces, they create a series of split level conditions, allowing opportunities for cross-platform visual connections and natural light and air to permeate throughout.
The classrooms always start with a homeroom, which acts as a transitional space as well as a home base for the students, instilling a sense of domesticity in a typically institutionalized space. A new central staircase threads across the multiple levels, whose landings are generously-sized to allow for collaborative activities to take place. This circulation spine is where students, regardless of their grade, can learn together and participate in activities outside of the traditional classroom.
Altogether, this project aims to create a different spatial typology and educational experience for students during the weekdays, and the local community in the evening and weekends. One that’s centered around flexibility, collaboration, and openness.
