Learning Landscape

A high school on an urban block offers a free space for the modern learner.

The Western school building has evolved in form and presence over the centuries as classical styles of Greek institutionalized education mutated to the mid-century aesthetic of industrial knowledge factories and finally to the hard architecture of the protective bunker.  In response to this lineage and in the context of New York City, the 21st-century school is reimagined as an elevated city block, at once grounded in the urban realm while safeguarding the intangible culture of discovery. The unprogrammed, self-regulated space of the high school hallway expands into an architectural landscape offering active grounds for discussion, experimentation, and unconventional learning.