Re:Public School
Cornell AAP 2017 2nd Year Core Studio
Integrative Design Practices
Individual Work
Instructor: Jason Long, Yusef Dennis, Scott Abrahams (OMA)
Site: New York, NY
Date: Spring 2017
Located along the northern boundary of the Brooklyn waterfront, Re:public School will serve both as a prototype for how architecture and architects can reshape the teaching environment and the future of education — not just in form and programing but in material and construction — and how a new institution can help shape public space in a rapidly transforming city. The focus will be on investigating the way that we can utilize the elements and systems of architecture to shape the learning environment through a process of comprehensive design to integrate structural and environmental systems, building envelopes, materiality, life-safety planning, and sustainability into a compelling school. This proposal manifests that adaptive topographical landscape accommodates water recycling infrastructure system that integrates educational programs and generates a larger urban framework, facilitating both the public and students.
Historic architecture in different scales and programs, for example, churches, theaters, and old schools. The unique roof scape and geometry of these historic buildings create a special language of cultural architecture in Greenpoint among common flat roofs. The transformation on section offers new spatial qualities both exterior and interior. The diversity of singular roof typology are extracted from local historic buildings and being transformed to new entities that reflects certain programs that meet that the demands for both tourists and students. Through the design of bridges connecting specific types of classrooms with corresponding public programs, circulations among visitors and students are separated and the traditional classroom distributions are transformed into a more explicit and original way.
The creation of the water canal manifests that adaptive topographical landscape accommodates water recycling infrastructure system that integrates educational programs and generates a larger urban framework, facilitating both the public and students. The earth excavated from the canal is used for both the topographical landscape of diverse program side and the stepping area of classroom space. By separating the school into two parts, the public and the private, it creates a new pedagogical method, which is, it gives more specific topics to each floor and each corresponding public building as well as more publicity. In this way, it also creates a contrast that the public side is more active and lively that can even open the public after school hour; and the private classroom side is more serious and calm for a proper study atmosphere.
Besides the programmatic and social considerations, the canal also plays a crucial role in solving the flooding problem. The 10-ft elevation on two sides, whether the natural landscape or the concrete stepping space, both provide opportunities in confronting the damage of flood. The canal water is purified through a systematic process underground to guarantee the safety and cleanness and it also constantly purify the polluted river by continuous pumping and flowing back to the river. During normal days, the canal serves as a separation of public and private, and also a recreation space for both visitors and students. During flood, the canal will serve as a container of abundant rainfall, and it can also prevent the damaging effects for both buildings and students’ life.
