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Maximize space on a limited and irregularly shaped site to create an inspiring public school for 630 children.
The New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) retained SHCA to design a new pre-K-8 school in Queens Village. SHCA's primary challenge was to compose a program of standardized, rectilinear spaces on an irregular site.
The main volume of the school is organized into a long 4-story volume that stretches along the busy commercial strip of Jamaica Avenue. The two public assembly elements, the Auditorium and Gymnasium, slide out from the main volume and engage the lower scale of the surrounding neighborhood. The library and select classrooms are stacked vertically above the main entry in a glassy prow that is inspired by the angular site.
The school's lobby, carved through the building, creates a "front door" on Jamaica Avenue and a main student entry off the south-facing playground. A pre-cast mural with colorful images of children playing animates the lobby.
The main volume of the school is organized into a long 4-story volume that stretches along the busy commercial strip of Jamaica Avenue. The two public assembly elements, the Auditorium and Gymnasium, slide out from the main volume and engage the lower scale of the surrounding neighborhood. The library and select classrooms are stacked vertically above the main entry in a glassy prow that is inspired by the angular site.
The school's lobby, carved through the building, creates a "front door" on Jamaica Avenue and a main student entry off the south-facing playground. A pre-cast mural with colorful images of children playing animates the lobby.
