East Harlem Charter School

EAST HARLEM CHARTER SCHOOL
East Harlem, NY

The ground floor entry plaza and roof terrace for the new building of the East Harlem Tutorial Program’s Scholar’s Academy High School offer amenity spaces that enrich the student experience and enhance the surrounding neighborhood. Anchoring the corner of 1st Avenue and 104th Street, the school’s entrance plaza is a welcoming space for students, educators, and the surrounding community. Cast stone site walls extending from the building’s base frame the plaza and form a gateway that guides the daily flow of people through an open paved landscape and up monumental steps to the school’s entrance. Amphitheater sit steps and a custom wood deck platform are flexible sites for gathering and events. A pair of canopy trees and a row of columnar trees create a lush backdrop to the plaza, and a visual buffer for neighbors.

The second floor roof terrace beside the school cafeteria offers an open gathering space surrounded by linear benches and extensive areas of lush planting. Moveable furnishings can be arranged in multiple ways to allow for daily lunch spill over, outdoor classrooms, lectures and special events.

COLLABORATORS: Shakespeare Gordon Vlado Architects (SGVA)