DIMENSIONS
Education Edition
Fall 2024
INTRODUCING DMR NY
With an already active pipeline in New York City, Bergen County, NJ-based DMR Architects has opened DMR NY Architects (DMR NY).
DMR Architects’ dynamic growth outside of New Jersey has been bolstered by its architectural consulting services provided to the New York City School Construction Authority (NYCSCA) for capital improvement projects, which includes more than 350 projects with a construction value of more than $1 billion.
“Historically, we have expanded our practice areas in anticipation of need,” DMR NY President & CEO Pradeep Kapoor, AIA, LEED AP BD+C said. “The development environment warrants DMR taking its energy and ideas into new markets.”
NJ DESIGNERS BRING VISION FOR EDUCATION BACK TO NY
As the team behind DMR Architects, the celebrated New Jersey architecture, planning and interior design firm, sets its sights on bringing its distinguished expertise to New York State, it’s a full circle moment for Lloyd A. Rosenberg, AIA, whose very first project for the northern New Jersey-based firm he founded was in Brewster, NY.
Rosenberg’s career flourished in New Jersey thanks to three decades of designing schools across the state, many of which were celebrated for their perceptivity in programming and technology. But in the early 1990s, when he shifted his vision to the founding of a new firm, New Jersey — and the public education market within it — became a natural entry point for DMR Architects, a firm that went on to build thousands of educational projects, many considered best-inbreed in the state.
But in the beginning, it was the Brewster Central School District in Brewster, NY that first believed in the vision behind DMR Architects, trusting the firm with the design of the new C.V. Starr Intermediate School while DMR was in its infancy.
Lloyd Rosenberg remains an associate of DMR NY, with his vision bolstered by a new generation in Pradeep Kapoor, Kurt Vierheilig and Fassil Zewdou.
PS 81M, Manhattan
C.V. Starr Intermediate School, Brewster
WORKING WITH YOUR ARCHITECT TO DESIGN ENTRYWAYS FOR IDENTITY AND SECURITY
A school’s exterior is an important design feature: it provides a warm welcome, clear wayfinding, and is an introduction for what to expect inside the building.
And often times building esteem from visual impact is only a secondary benefit: the challenge of protecting teachers and students from security threats is a critical focus of entryway design.
But when working with skilled architects, these projects can be completed beautifully, creatively and in a way that meets unique needs, and often times, reveal opportunities for additional benefits.
Wayfinding
Unintentional confusion was caused in the 1960s, when a major expansion eliminated the front entrance at Hackensack High School. 60+ years later, a new entrance finally addressed the problem of clear wayfinding, while also adding a security vestibule, bullet resistant glazing, CCTV, key card access and lighting. And at 1,100 SF, it is its own place, with seating for people to gather and feel connected, giving the entrance its own identity.
Identity
Sometimes seeking that identity is the impetus for the project. At Carteret High School, after a new junior high, with a grand multi-story entrance on a busy corner opened on adjacent property, the existing high school entrance down the road lacked the same identity.
While building the esteem offered by a new entrance was of critical importance, the reality is that the new security vestibule was also important. By working with DMR, security elements, such as bollards and metal detectors, were able to be incorporated while instilling pride, not fear.
Security
Other times security is the main impetus for the project, with improved identity, wayfinding and programming being secondary benefits.
At the Columbus Elementary School in Carteret, addressing security concerns meant identifying a new location for the main entrance, which then required programming changes, including moving the main office and creating a main entrance lobby. Security concerns were addressed, and the entrance is now located next to the cafeteria, streamlining drop-off and pickup of early- and late-entry and eliminating the need for visitors to walk through the school.
Carteret High School, Carteret, NJ
Hackensack High School, Hackensack, NJ
EDUCATION PROJECTS DELIVERED THROUGH UNIQUE FUNDING SOURCES AND DELIVERY METHODS
Just as each school system requires customized solutions for infrastructure needs, they also need individualized approaches to funding, with recent school projects at DMR offering a window into the many ways of meeting project needs while remaining fiscally conservative.
In Carteret, sixth through eighth grade students now have a new Junior High School, funded through a $37 million referendum. DMR played a key role in crafting the referendum, which ensured all five schools and 4,000 students benefited from the funding.
In Plainfield, students just started their second year in the Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School, and in Bayonne and WoodRidge, two more buildings are underway, with all three projects following a design-build approach. For projects that utilize this method, the design and construction phases overlap, requiring detailed coordination that delivers projects in shorter timeframes.
In New Brunswick, the Blanquita B. Valenti Community School was funded without taxpayer dollars through a unique, land-exchange agreement. Through the agreement, the project paved the way for the construction of the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, a 500,000+ SF, state-of-the-art cancer hospital that will be the first of its kind in New Jersey.
$45 million of energy-related upgrades funded through New Jersey’s Energy Saving Improvement Program are also progressing in Edison, Tenafly and Bayonne. These projects, such as HVAC upgrades and solar panels, are funded using the value of the energy savings that result from the projects, allowing them to move forward without capital reserve funds.
Blanquita B. Valenti Community School, New Brunswick, NJ
Hudson County Vocational at Bayonne High School, Bayonne, NJ
Carteret Junior High School, Carteret, NJ
THE SAME COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE,
NOW RISING IN NEW YORK.
DMR NY is built upon the commitments that have distinguished DMR Architects, the celebrated New Jersey architecture, planning and interior design firm. While DMR NY represents a new focus on growing in The Empire State, the team behind DMR NY Architects have already been building its local experience for more than 20 years.
2006 | DMR is awarded its first six NYCSCA projects. Among them was an auditorium upgrade at PS 162Q.
2007 | DMR transformed a former warehouse in Armonk into The GYM, a high-end fitness facility, that draws upon the brand’s commitment to nature.
2010 | DMR completed a major renovation to the 110,000 SF PS 81 in Manhattan that addressed ADA accessibility, ventilation and water infiltration, a scope that required reconstructing a plaza deck without disturbing two 10,000 gallon oil tanks located underneath.
2012 | DMR began an $11 million renovation to repair the facade of PS 135 in Queens, requiring preserving the architectural details of the building built in 1929.
2014 | DMR was called upon to address water infiltration damage to PS 226X, finding hundreds of deficiencies, including damage to the roof underneath a rooftop playground.
2015 | DMR was contracted by La Scuola d’Italia, a bilingual private school in Manhattan, to renovate a 108,000 SF, 11-story, former research facility into a thriving education and cultural center.
2018 | DMR completed extensive exterior improvements to PS 269 in Brooklyn, without disturbing the aluminum windows, a historic element of the schools constructed in the 1950s.
2022 | DMR designed a fashion workshop at PS 600 in Manhattan.
2021 | DMR NY is founded by Lloyd Rosenberg, Pradeep Kapoor and Kurt Vierheilig.
2021 | At JHS 162 in Brooklyn, DMR restored the masonry of the 110+ year old building, which was covered in ornamentation and historic motifs, including nine decorative spires that had crumbled due to water infiltration.
2024 | Historical art in schools is so prevalent that the NYCSCA has a commission dedicated to preserving the thousands of pieces of art within its schools, the only program of its type in the country. DMR worked with the commission during a exterior masonry and roofing project at Erasmus Hall Educational Campus in Brooklyn to preserve an original 1919 Louis Tiffany stained glass window.
6 EDUCATIONAL SPACES THAT EMBRACE DIVERGENT LEARNING MODALITIES
While flexibility and collaboration in school construction were once considered innovative ideas, modern school projects are transforming spaces of all kinds to meet both divergent learning modalities and socialization goals. Here are six examples:
1. Hallway | A 48,000 SF addition to John P. Stevens High School is adding much needed classroom space, and is also serving as the canvas for modern educational elements, including right in the hallway. The space that might have previously been used only as a passageway will include learning stairs, a place for formal classes in a more relaxed environment or simply another location for students to study or socialize.
2. Media Center | The 3,000 SF media center at the Blanquita B. Valenti Community School features wraparound, floor-to-ceiling windows, bookshelves incorporated into the backs of seating and furniture, a classroom with electronic whiteboards for small-group instruction and an adjacent, glass-enclosed makerspace. Design decisions were made to ensure a meaningful learning environment was possible for students in grades K-8.
3. Auditorium | Divergent thinking is all about giving the space and freedom to explore a variety of ideas, solutions and concepts. And often times, these spaces are linked to helping students explore new career options. At the Frank J. Gargiulo Campus in Secaucus, the auditorium, with only 316 seats, is not simply a central location for performances. Instead it’s a place for the next generation of performers and technicians to develop their craft.
4. Science Lab | While new, grand science labs are often envisioned when dreaming of the best divergent learning spaces, for many districts, these types of construction projects are not feasible. But with an architectural partner, offering these spaces within existing classrooms is still possible. At the Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering, a former music room became the home to the biomedical science program by taking down the ceiling and hanging utilities and ventilation hoods.
5. Cafeteria | At Hackensack High School, an outdated cafeteria meant that students left the building for lunch nearly every day. When it came time to renovate, the vision for the project was set as more of a lounge, with tables of various sizes and heights, and an updated grab-and-go area that felt more like an exciting food hall.
6. Outdoor Classroom | Divergent learning is often noted as thinking outside the box; the same concept should be applied to thinking outside the physical school building. At Carteret High School, a 1,000 SF, previously unused paved area will soon offer an outdoor space with the same technology, safety and opportunities that exist inside.
John P. Stevens High School, Edison, NJ
Blanquita B. Valenti Community School, New Brunswick, NJ
Carteret High School, Carteret, NJ
Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering, Passaic, NJ
THE TEAM BEHIND DMR NY
The team behind DMR NY is a group of talented, licensed architects who have helped deliver thousands of educational projects that range from critical capital improvements to celebrated new construction. To better get to know some of them as designers, we asked them to share some reflections on their profession.
WHAT IS AN INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL PLACE YOU HAVE GOTTEN DESIGN INSPIRATION FROM?
The ice cubes in my freezer inspired me while working on an ice rink project where I wanted to include an interesting, ice-related feature in the lobby. The result: we clad a large volume that housed an egress stair with translucent panels that mimics an abstract version of a huge block of ice. (Very “cool”).
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT DETAILS?
When designing a library, we needed an elegant solution to separate the children’s room from the main library stacks. We created a wood veneer frame surrounded by glass, a “feature wall” that became a visual cue, identifying the delineation of areas and creating scale and interest within the space.
DO YOU HAVE ANY HABITS BEFORE STARTING A PROJECT?
I am a believer in analyzing and understanding the site and its constraints. So much design inspiration can be learned from the site and its context.
KURT VIERHEILIG, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
LLOYD A. ROSENBERG, AIA
WHAT IS AN INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL PLACE
YOU HAVE GOTTEN DESIGN INSPIRATION FROM?
I’ve been inspired by countless experiences around the world: people, food, décor, adventures and of course, renowned architectural buildings and sites.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT DETAILS?
I still love every detail of Sparta Middle School, completed in the early 2000s. The building itself is symmetrical, creating the base of a “house plan” that gave each grade its own area of the building, with the gym and cafeteria attached to the rear.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TOOL, RESOURCE OR PROGRAM? Pen and paper. There is nothing quite like working out a problem or organizing your thoughts on paper.
PRADEEP KAPOOR, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
WHAT IS AN INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL PLACE YOU HAVE GOTTEN DESIGN INSPIRATION FROM?
I am fascinated by biophilic architecture such as the perfect hexagons of beehives, ant colonies, bird nests and spider webs.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT DETAILS?
I like how small, creative details impact a buildings’ life and maintenance: simple flashing or reveal details that keep water out, thoughtful design patterns that make tile layout look fascinating, or orienting windows to maximize sunlight and ventilation.
DO YOU HAVE ANY HABITS BEFORE STARTING A PROJECT?
Reading through previous projects’ lessons learned.
MEET
THE DMR NY TEAM AT THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION 2024 ANNUAL CONVENTION & EDUCATION EXPO
DMR NY is exhibiting at the NYSSBA annual conference on Monday, October 21 and Tuesday, October 22 in New York City.
Visit us at booth 2303 to learn about how our architects, interior designers, construction managers and cost estimators can become part of your districts’ team.
HOW YOUR ARCHITECTURAL PARTNER IS A PART OF YOUR SCHOOL PROJECT TEAM
Of the more than 1,000 educational projects completed by the DMR NY team, more than 80% can be categorized as reinvestment relationships that have spanned decades, touched most of the districts’ buildings and guided the community through major moments.
DMR Architects has supported at least 30 districts through 25 projects each, a window into the role that an architect plays in the process of providing modern, safe and stimulating infrastructure for learning.
While our architects are also the visionaries behind cutting-edge new construction, most preK-12 school needs fall into the category of essential building upgrades, additions, health and safety concerns and other facility maintenance needs. In addition to choosing a capable designer, choosing the right architectural partner for these projects means choosing a firm that can identify unique funding sources, comprehend pragmatic functions of the building, consider how the construction project will disrupt the existing school ecosystem and examine every opportunity for a chance to improve functionality.
development effort that delivered the
without taxpayer dollars.
In 2023, the 127,000 SF, DMR-designed Blanquita B. Valenti Community School opened in New Brunswick. The project was completed through a collaborative
school
DMR has completed more than 30 projects for the New Brunswick Board of Education. One of our first projects, completed in 2011, addressed water infiltration at the Roosevelt School.