Rangr Studio

Berkeley Chess School

Berkeley Chess School 

Rangr Studio

Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman

ARCHITECTS
Rangr Studio

DESIGN TEAM
Rangr Studio

PHOTOGRAPHS
Matthew Millman

AREA
1200 Ft²

YEAR
2024

LOCATION
Berkeley, United States

CATEGORY
Schools

Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman

Text description provided by architect.

Berkeley Chess School was founded in 1981 as an after-school program. It has grown today to teach 7,000 children a year in the Bay Area and has produced an unmatched three grandmasters.

The founder's primary goal, however, has always been to empower children by teaching them chess, a predictor of future success in STEM subjects.

Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman
Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman

The school teaches for free where students would not otherwise have access to such programs and holds low-cost summer camps and Friday night classes for kids throughout the year. BCS has been using teaching chess as a tool toward greater social equity for 40 years.

Rangr Studio's addition to the Berkeley Chess School's existing building provides ADA access, a cafe, and a new classroom.

Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman
Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman

To stay within the non-profit's budget, so we got to thinking "What can we do with small (inexpensive) glass?"

The idea of a chessboard facade came immediately to mind.

Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman
Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman
Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman

Inexpensive to build, a storefront wall uses ordinary tinted and translucent panes of glass to create the image of a chessboard.

The school's identity becomes present at an urban scale, and the window transcends being a signifier-- it becomes a spatial element that dramatically announces the building's use.

Visitors, students, and teachers enter the building at the side of the facade, behind the chessboard window, metaphorically entering the world of chess.

Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman
Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman


Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman
Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman
Berkeley Chess School
© Matthew Millman


Berkeley Chess School
Ground Floor Plan
Berkeley Chess School
1st Floor Plan


Berkeley Chess School
Site Plan
Berkeley Chess School
Section
Berkeley Chess School
Isometric

Rangr Studio
T +1 212 7279911
Rangr Studio
1234 Grizzly Peak Blvd, Berkeley, CA 94708, United States