Blue School Middle School

Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama

BLUE SCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL

PellOverton Architects

CATEGORY
Schools

LOCATION
New York, United States

YEAR
2017

PHOTOGRAPHS
Mikiko Kikuyama

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Silman

MANUFACTURERS
Cascade Architectural, 3form, Bartco Lighting, Cascade Coil

MEP ENGINEER
ADS Engineers

GREEN ROOF CONSULTANT
Future Green Studio

LIGHTING DESIGNER
Derek Porter Studio

Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama

Text description provided by architect.

Blue School recently initiated a middle school program, expanding their South Street Seaport facility into an adjacent, 1940’s-era frozen seafood warehouse.

Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama

The adaptive reuse of this older structure presented both preexisting challenges and unique opportunities to design a contemporary learning environment while preserving much of the building’s original Seaport character.

Through the careful connection between buildings and the insertion of new programming - including classrooms and informal learning spaces, recreational and instructional outdoor space, and a large STEAM lab - the programmatic and material transformations of the warehouse both support and reflect an educational philosophy of project-based, creative inquiry.

Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

A new maker-space has been created at the ground floor, putting the creative production of this maker-space on stage for the neighborhood at large.

Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama

Large, operable storefront windows on the street façade allow the creative production of the school to be directly visible and accessible to the surrounding neighborhood.

Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama

Similarly on the interior, the STEAM lab is framed by a Cascade Coil curtain that provides spatial separation without hindering visibility of the activity within, while alluding to the industrial history of the building.

These elements allow for a transparent boundary between school and neighborhood in the spirit of the school’s ethos as an outward-facing community of learning.

Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama
Blue School Middle School
© Mikiko Kikuyama


Blue School Middle School
First and Second Floor Plan
Blue School Middle School
Roof Plan


Blue School Middle School
Section