The Calhoun School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

Developed after a comprehensive master plan and feasibility study, the architect’s design for this prestigious School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side adds four stories and a mezzanine level to the existing building and fills in the building footprint. The design, which results in an additional 30,500 square feet of space, resolves the formal and programmatic challenges entailed in expanding vertically and horizontally to the 1973 concrete and travertine building. The expanded school contains a two-story performing arts center, with a 234-seat black box theatre as the centerpiece. Surrounded by rehearsal spaces, set design shop, and music instructional spaces, the three-quarter round theatre provides flexible performance space for the arts department and specialized teaching space for all the arts. The 5,200 square foot gym is located on the top floor of the addition, with clearstory windows creating a warm and welcoming place for recreation. The building is topped with a green roof. The School’s green roof transformed a sterile roofing surface into a safe, multi-purpose oasis of fresh air and greenery for students, faculty, and community at large, and has inspired a broad range of curricular applications. The school remained in operation throughout construction.

Educator Narrative

A proponent of Progressive Education, the School attends to the intellectual, emotional, and social growth of its students as individuals and as members of a larger society. The School is dedicated to preserving these values, and to the strong scientific evidence that children learn best through active, experiential learning.

In 1999, a Strategic Plan was adopted by the Board of Trustees to address the academic needs for the School’s growing enrollment. The School decided to expand not only its programming, but also its building. After a comprehensive master plan and feasibility study, the architect’s design added four stories and a mezzanine level to the existing building (completed in 1974) and the building footprint was filled in, which resulted in an additional 30,500 square feet of much-needed new space (nearly doubling the facility).

The School’s expanded building includes: New athletic center with full-size gymnasium, locker rooms and weight-training room / New performing arts center with theater / Rehearsal rooms for music, theater and dance / Woodshop for theater tech / New science center with three laboratories for biology, chemistry and general science / New language labs / Newly expanded art studios equipped with kiln / Photography/digital video center with darkroom / Eco-friendly Green Roof Learning Center, designed for multi-purpose uses

The School is the first educational institution in New York City to design an eco-friendly Green Roof. The Green Roof added some cost to the expansion when compared to a utilitarian membrane roof, but it was actually the least expensive educational space built during the project –and the rewards are many.

The Green Roof provides real environmental benefits: it reduces storm water runoff by 40 percent (an average of almost 26,000 gallons of water every year); it provides insulation to reduce heating and cooling needs; it helps filter the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen; and it provides a food source for wildlife.

The Green Roof provides an aesthetic and educational element to the School, as well. Since its opening, the Green Roof has been used by teachers for environmental and plant biology studies as well as for units in math (geometry). Next year, there will be an astronomy elective for students, who will be able to use the roof as their “observation deck.” As anticipated, the lunch program has been a major beneficiary of our Green Roof herb garden, which is planted each spring as a joint project between Lower School classes and our food service chefs — who frequently visit classrooms and conduct after-school clubs to promote nutrition and healthy eating habits. The Green Roof has also been the site of an outdoor art installation, a source of inspiration for poetry classes, and a favorite escape from urban life.

The Green Roof has truly become a role model for other institutions. We continue to answer inquiries and give tours to educators, students, architects and legislators who are inspired by what we’ve done. Although it was not our aim, the positive public attention and good will generated by responsible architecture have returned our investment several times over.