The first WeGrow school in New York City, created from a collaboration between BIG and WeWork, is a 10,000-sf space for children between the ages of three and nine located in WeWork’s HQ in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
The school was designed “for learning to be a transformational and holistic experience,” according it BIG. It features a field of super-elliptic objects with a variety of functions that allows children to move freely throughout the day and to learn from the environment around them. The school includes four classrooms, flexible workshops, community space, a multi-purpose studio, an art studio, a music room, and a variety of playscapes.
Image by Dave Burk.
See Also: The Alphabet of Light: A to Z from BIG
The majority of the partitions inside the school are shelves raised to the level of the child in order to allow natural light to reach deep into the building. The different shelving levels for each age group curve occasionally to create activity pockets while still allowing the teachers to have full perspective of the space. Overhead, acoustic clouds are illuminated with Ketra bulbs that shift in color and intensity based on the time of day.
Image by Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Learning stations feature details and materials designed to optimize the environment: modular classrooms promote movement and collaboration, puzzle tables and chairs manufactured by Bednark Studio come in kid and parent sizes to offer equal perspectives, and the vertical garden with tiles made in Switzerland by Laufen are planted with lavender, sweet violets, and chocolate mint among others. BIG’s Gople Lamp and Alphabet of Light illuminate the path from the lobby (shared by teachers, parents, and children) to the classrooms.
Image by Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Image by Dave Burk.
Related Stories
BIM and Information Technology | Dec 28, 2014
The Big Data revolution: How data-driven design is transforming project planning
There are literally hundreds of applications for deep analytics in planning and design projects, not to mention the many benefits for construction teams, building owners, and facility managers. We profile some early successful applications.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Dec 17, 2014
USGBC announces 2014 Best of Green Schools honorees
Houston's Monarch School was named the K-12 school of the year, and Western Michigan University was honored as the top higher-ed institution, based on environmental programs and education efforts.
| Dec 15, 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture launches fundraising campaign for independent incorporation
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation announced today that it approved a possible path toward independent incorporation of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture by raising $2 million before the end of 2015.
| Dec 1, 2014
How public-private partnerships can help with public building projects
Minimizing lifecycle costs and transferring risk to the private sector are among the benefits to applying the P3 project delivery model on public building projects, according to experts from Skanska USA.
| Nov 25, 2014
Behnisch Architekten unveils design for energy-positive building in Boston
The multi-use building for Artists For Humanity that is slated to be the largest energy positive commercial building in New England.
| Nov 18, 2014
New tool helps developers, contractors identify geographic risk for construction
The new interactive tool from Aon Risk Solutions provides real-time updates pertaining to the risk climate of municipalities across the U.S.
| Nov 14, 2014
What college students want in their living spaces
In a recent workshop with 62 college students, architects from Little explored the changing habits and preferences of today's students, and how those changes affect their living spaces.
| Nov 12, 2014
Chesapeake Bay Foundation completes uber-green Brock Environmental Center, targets Living Building certification
More than a decade after opening its groundbreaking Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the group is back at it with a structure designed to be net-zero water, net-zero energy, and net-zero waste.
