Village Community School
The Village Community School comprises multiple buildings on a site with a long history in education. Situated between Washington and Greenwich Streets, the school is one block east of the Hudson river and borders the Greenwich Village Historic District, designated by Landmarks in 1969.
The client wanted to expand on the site above an existing outdoor playground, adding 50% more space. The new addition provided the opportunity to add new specialized spaces, such as a language suite, a science suite, an innovators lab, a new tech lab, a new library, and a new wood shop.
The expansion balances and reflects many historic elements of the existing school buildings, incorporating them into a cohesive whole spanning the full West 10th Street block.
The sensitive yet unique character of the expansion’s educational spaces, façade, and massing is a testament to the great care, consideration, and collaboration by the VCS Building Committee and the design team.
It was important that the building have transparency throughout to broadcast their pedagogy and allowing for cross-disciplinary communication.
The library offers a myriad of seating types, formal and informal, in a rainbow of color.