Cooke School & Institute
COOKE SCHOOL & INSTITUTE
PBDW Architects
ARCHITECTS
PBDW Architects
PHOTOS
Photo Credits: © 2021 Francis Dzikowski/OTTO
STATUS
Built
AREA
25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft
BUDGET
Undisclosed
YEAR
2020
LOCATION
New York, NY, United States
CATEGORY
Educational › Auditorium Elementary School High School Library Other
Historically marginalized, the Cooke School & Institute provides K-12 students and young adults with extreme special needs academic programming, therapy, counseling, and life skills services.
Previously split between three locations across Manhattan, this new facility combines the grammar and high schools with administrative offices into a single purpose-built facility.
The project resulted in a design that serves a diverse age range within a single facility and provides a dignified place of learning for this unique student population.
Unusual in Manhattan, the school is a free-standing building which has a distinctive neighborhood presence that can be appreciated on all sides.
The evocative bay window articulation along the front is simplified and flattened across the rear façade.
Featuring various cladding systems, including terra cotta rain screen, insulated metal panels, channel glass, and curtain wall, the exterior envelope creatively meets both aesthetic and budgetary requirements.
Larger shared spaces, along with administrative areas are located on the lower floors of the building.
The upper three floors are divided in half, creating separate vertical campuses for both the grammar and high schools.
Separate academic and specialty classrooms, therapy and counseling spaces, and stair towers for each school allow for the controlled separation of the youngest and oldest students.
Classrooms are positioned to take advantage of daylight, and each has its own adjacent break-out room where therapists or teachers can work with individuals or small groups as needed throughout the day.
