Transforming Our Space

From modest classrooms on the third and fourth floors of Rodeph Shalom to the expanded campus that now includes both a Lombard Street and South Street property, The Philadelphia School has always been a “work-in-progress.” Each year, according to architect and former TPS Board member Philip Franks, brought “problems that needed to be solved, ideas that needed to be explored, and experiments that needed to be conducted, using what we had to get as close as possible to what we wanted.”

We asked members of the TPS community who have been involved in the design and, indeed, the redesign of the school environment to reflect on memorable projects, the challenge of translating the school’s integrateddisciplines approach to learning into a coherent design and structure, and what they would like to see in the future.

Memorable Projects

It was difficult for Phil Franks to settle on one or two projects “as all projects were memorable to me.” From building the first cubbies in the 1970s to designing the original preschool on the third floor of the Lombard building in the late 1990s, Phil has always been a champion of flexible spaces and capturing natural light. He remembers an early Lombard Street challenge: “The project was to take an interior room that had no windows but was bordered by hallways on two sides that did have large windows. The staff and students disliked this interior room. It was an unpleasant space. I designed high windows located above eye level on the two sides of the room that faced the hallways that had the large windows: instant transformation! The power of natural light to change the character of the space was amazing, and the staff and the students loved the space.”

Another project brought an unexpected solution to a nagging problem, namely how to transform what had been interior offices for Globe Security into Primary Unit classrooms. Phil remembers: “This space was dark and dismal, lacking any windows. I knew natural light was vital and went looking for ways to get access to it and make it available to each classroom. To my surprise I found that old skylights in the ceiling had been covered and roofed over for many years. The old ceilings and roofing were removed and new large skylights were installed, putting a great deal of natural light into the middle of each classroom. Then large openings were cut into the exterior masonry walls and clear glass blocks installed in these new openings. This glass block section of wall now glowed with natural sunlight and was visible directly across the classroom from the entry doors to the classrooms. The transformation created by the skylights and the glass blocks was wonderful and a stunning surprise to everyone.”

Charles Loomis and Chariss McAfee, architects and former TPS parents, have also been important partners in the design and redesign of the school environment. Charles remembers: “I was involved in many of the almost yearly reconfigurations of the Lombard Street building required by the need to accommodate growth not only in student population but also program. While most of this work was quiet, the challenge of creating flexible yet intimate spaces that supported multiple modalities of teaching and learning, often with minimum budgetary support, was rewarding. Much of this work was experimental – such as the use of cubbies to define space -and consequently not precious. If some of the deployed devices were deficient, modifications could be quickly implemented. However, decisions about infrastructure were carefully considered in order to allow for future build out and/or reconfiguration, and this interaction of flexibility and fixedness was engaging and reflective, perhaps, of the goals of progressive education.”

Jane Ahn and Jane Lawson-Bell were chairs of the Building Committee in the early 2000s and remark that their time in that role was a relatively “quiet time” in the history of construction projects at TPS. “The most notable part of our work focused on envisioning a more creative and cohesive use of the Lombard side of the campus.” Most memorable for these two architects was the Vision Plan developed for the renovation of the Lombard Building (2016). “This conceptual plan outlined clear circulation paths through the building and a flexible classroom design which could accommodate different class sizes. It also allowed for a more efficient use of the existing three buildings which had been joined together over time.”

Jeffrey Mordan, Director of Spaces and Systems at The Philadelphia School, has been intimately involved with more recent transformations within the Lombard building. A memorable project was the renovation of the second floor which houses the third grade, Junior Unit, several offices, the gymnasium, art studio, and bathrooms. Jeffrey remembers, “The redesign of the second floor space was shocking and immersive. I remember seeing the students’ eyes as they walked up the main stairs into the new hallway, amazed by the bright colors and beautiful built-in cubbies. This was the biggest remodeling of Lombard that I’ve seen recently. The summer renovation of the third floor space for sixth grade, then later the Middle School spaces, were fairly small by comparison - though the opening of the gym in 2000 was certainly eye popping!”