Primary and Intermediate School 89M Battery Park City Authority and New York City Board of Education New York, New York
The interior of this primary school was designed as a microcosm of the urban environment. Nestled at the base of a new mixed-use apartment tower, the school integrates the surrounding cityscape including the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street, which are both visible through generous windows. An innovative program brings together students from kindergarten to the eighth grade in order to mingle children of different ages and accommodate a range of teaching methods.
The school was organized as a series of classroom clusters linked by corridors analogous to city streets and neighborhoods. Tall, light-filled corridors facilitate access to the classrooms on one side, and the major public spaces — such as the cafeteria, auditorium and gym — located on the other. Along the corridors, multipurpose spaces are allocated for activities that may spill out from the classrooms or other group events. As in the city, daily movement through these hallways also stimulates informal instruction or chance conversation among students and teachers.
PKSB ARCHITECTS, P.C.
Each classroom is designed as an enclosed space with a windowed wall that recalls city storefronts and creates visual and functional connections to the larger life of the school. Designed for flexibility, classroom size and space can vary depending on need by means of moveable wall panels. The more public areas are concentrated on the ground floor and in a vertical “activity core” located in the school’s center. On the fifth floor, this core is transformed into an outdoor terrace with glazed walls that provide natural light to the library and public corridors.
PKSB ARCHITECTS, P.C.
Van Nest Academy Civic Builders and New York City School Construction Authority Bronx, New York
The Van Nest Academy houses two schools in one facility. It is a PS/IS School for the School Construction Authority (SCA) and a Kindergarten through 8th grade Charter School for the Carl Icahn Charter School 2 built by Civic Builders. The project marks a groundbreaking strategic partnership between Civic Builders, the NYC Department of Education, and the NYCSCA. This Bronx community district 11 had suffered from intense academic and capacity needs. Recognizing the severity of the problem, the NYCSCA made the district a priority in its capital plan. Following the SCA’s lead, Civic Builders spent a year working with local City Council and Community Board members to gain support for the development of a new educational facility for the neighborhood. With the help of PKSB Architects, this new combined school facility was realized.
The building’s design responds to its urban setting in a densely populated Bronx neighborhood. The school sits on two distinctly different streets. Bronxdale Avenue is a wide thoroughfare with various commercial and manufacturing buildings. Van Nest Avenue is a one-lane roadway lined with small onefamily homes. The building responds to both conditions by stepping down along the narrower street and up on the wider one. Similarly, the façade on the residential street is red brick reflecting the tonality of the adjacent buildings.
PKSB ARCHITECTS, P.C.
On Bronxdale, where the building is taller, a light color brick is used. The large penetrations at this faรงade are reminiscent of the historic industrial buildings along Bronxdale Avenue. From the outside, the two schools appear to be in separate but interlocking buildings. Each has its own entry and unique sense of identity. On the interior, the two schools are woven together by grand shared public spaces. The design of the shared facilities evokes a sense of community while each school maintains its own character within the building. Pedestrians have full view into the twostory lobby. The gymnasium, cafeteria and theatre area all accessed via the lobby making the complex a major asset to the community at large.
PKSB ARCHITECTS, P.C.
210 Joralemon Street United American Land and New York City Economic Development Corporation Brooklyn, New York
PKSB and United American Land were selected by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to create a new type of retail destination in Downtown Brooklyn. Formerly occupied by the NYC Department of Finance Business Center, the development sits within the Brooklyn Municipal Building and the design required coordination with core and shell elements located within the City-owned property. The Department of Design and Construction and DCAS (Department of Citywide Administrative Services) reviewed these portions of the design. PKSB guided the entire project through the approvals process at the Building Department and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Preservation was a key component to the success of the project. The transformation from monumental municipal building to pedestrian-friendly retail frontage required careful and thoughtful design solutions. New storefronts were added within existing masonry openings to both the Joralemon and Court Street frontages to provide greater transparency and connection to the sidewalk. These modern interventions activate the street level while maintaining a coherent architectural expression across the entire landmarked building. The ground floor improvements meet a key goal of the Downtown Brooklyn Special Purpose District to enliven the streetscape and enhance the pedestrian environment.
PKSB ARCHITECTS, P.C.
Triple Bridges Community Board 4, Private Lighting Artist, Leni Schwendinger and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey New York, New York
The local Manhattan Community Board 4 conducted the initial project. The goal was to transform the overpasses, newly named Triple Bridge Gateway, into a distinctive landmark fusing utility with visibility improving the lives of Local residents and more importantly the businesses on the cusp of a much needed upturn in the re-vitalization and in some ways “rescaling� of the neighborhood. Since their construction, the bridges which bring buses from the Lincoln Tunnel to the upper levels of the Port Authority bus station have created a dark, dreary back door to Manhattan for thousands of visitors and commuters each day. The local community, concerned about both the image to passengers and the quality of street life below, organized an invited competition to find a means of transforming the structure into a welcoming community asset.
PKSB ARCHITECTS, P.C.
PKSB’s winning design has its roots in the existing character of the neighborhood and the structural nature of the bridges. Finding inspiration in Mondrian’s Broadway BoogieWoogie and James Turrell’s light studies, the design team created an installation that expresses energy with structure, color and light. The bridges themselves are painted a palette of colors to enhance the sculptural quality of the roadways and are illuminated dramatically. Permanent metal scaffolding inserted as a means of maintaining the installation, acts as a theatrical scrim both revealing and concealing color that vibrates between the surfaces to invigorate and light the space below. Reflections from passing lights from cars and taxis interact with the composition and add to the vitality of the design.
PKSB ARCHITECTS, P.C.