Corlears School Expansion

New York, NY

Client: Corlears School
Completion: 2010
Area: 28,000 sf

The Corlears School was originally constructed as a tenement building and later converted into a school in the 1970’s. While the building had undergone piecemeal renovations since then, the facility still fell short of meeting the school’s needs. FXFOWLE’s design for the current renovation will meet three goals: right-sizing of the academic spaces; creating additional classrooms, and bringing the building up to date to meet current fire/life/safety and accessibility codes. An adjacent brownstone will be demolished, allowing an expansion, and the existing interiors will be reconfigured so that it blends seamlessly with the existing structure and maintains the feel of a single building. Provisions are being included for a future additional floor that will house a gymnasium and green roof. The curriculum at Corlears reflects their strongly held belief that young children are natural learners, curious about the world around them, and learning and growing from experiences they find meaningful and relevant. The new school building will embody the school’s educational mission and communicate its ideals. It will be used as a learning tool for sustainability and incorporated into the learning process.