Coney Island Head Start School is a new 35,000 sf building serving low-income pre-school children. The construction was funded by FEMA to replace the previous building that was damaged in Super Storm Sandy. The new design meets all the Head Start Design Directives and integrates green space at each level of the building. The landscape meets the street with an entry ramp through a native dune landscape. The second and third floor rooftop play spaces span the footprint of the classrooms below, and are directly adjacent and accessible to the classrooms they serve. Together, they make up a 5,000 sf  multi-level play area incorporating safety surface mounds, vegetable garden plots, natural logs for climbing, and a 12-foot long slide connecting the two levels.  JPLA worked in partnership with the Green Belt Native Plant Center to select a palette of plantings indigenous to the area.  Our landscape celebrates the coastal dunes in the area, and in doing so, provides an opportunity to teach kids about nature, local ecology and the important role of a resilient landscape.

Rendering by: Dattner Architects