Gruzen Samton · IBI Group announced the opening of a new 145,000 s/f facility for The Abraham Joshua Heschel School on West End Avenue and 61st Street in Manhattan.
Classes began in September 2012 and the Opening Celebration took place on December 9, 2012.
Gruzen Samton · IBI Group designed a new nine story building that allows Heschel’s Early Childhood Facility, Lower School and Middle School to relocate from the Upper West Side and unite with its existing High School to create a single campus.
In addition to a variety of general and specialized learning spaces, the new building provides a competition sized gymnasium, library/media center, student dining facility, performance space, chapel, and a rooftop play space. Environmental considerations were central to the design of the facility and LEED Gold Certification is anticipated.
The building’s façade is composed of transparent, translucent and solid elements whose modulation creates a rhythm that reveals the richness of the school’s educational program and emphasizes the connection between the inner spiritual and outer secular worlds. Each school within the building has retained its own identity while benefiting from being located in a common facility.
