PBDW Architects Education Booklet

HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK

Hillside Elementary School is a K through 4th grade public school in the Westchester rivertown village of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. PBDW was brought in as design architect for a 17,000sf addition to the school including a flexible cafeteria/auditorium space, four classrooms and two resource rooms for music and special education.

Our design for the addition was a response to the setting, access paths and existing activity hubs for the elementary school. The building is angled to center around a new front porch off the glazed façade of the cafetorium and faces the playground, creating a rich visual connection between school and play for the young students.

The main façade of the building slopes down towards the existing one story school, using translucent kalwall at the high point to capture natural light in the interior, and clad in varying terracotta color glass-fiber reinforced brick for a bright look. The classrooms are situated at the rear of the building, with large glazed openings that face into the woods. The project coherently addresses programmatic concerns for the school, and establishes a focal point for the building, enriching its presence in the beautiful setting of Hillside woods.

AT A GLANCE

Public School/ K-12

New Construction

Additions

SERVICES

Programming

Architectural and Interior Design

HIGHLIGHTS

Flex Space

Cafeteria

Auditorium

Classrooms

COOKE SCHOOL & INSTITUTE

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Cooke School & Institute is an organization committed to providing academic programs, therapy, support, and life skills services to students with special needs in grades K-12, as well as young adults ages 18-21. In combining the grammar and high schools, PBDW was faced with the challenge of creating a design that would serve a diverse age range within a single facility. Additionally, a deed restriction limiting the building height, plus a tight budget, led PBDW to look at both space and cost-efficient design solutions to address the client’s complex program requirements.

Larger shared spaces, along with administrative areas, are located on the lower floors of the building. The upper three floors are divided in half, creating separate vertical campuses for both the grammar and high schools. Separate academic and specialty classrooms, therapy and counseling spaces, and stair towers for each school allow for the controlled separation of the youngest and oldest students. Classrooms are positioned to take advantage of daylight, and each has its own break-out room within the space where therapists or teachers can work with individuals or small groups as needed throughout the day.

AT A GLANCE

Special Needs School

New Construction

SERVICES

Programming

Architectural and Interior Design

HIGHLIGHTS

Classrooms

Gymnasium

Therapy and Counseling Spaces

Play Roof

Daily Living Labs

2022 American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum

2022 Architizer A+ Awards, Special Mention in the Architecture + Color category

2022 Vanceva® World of Color Awards, Honorable Mention

RIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL

BRONX, NEW YORK

Riverdale Country School is a pre-K through 12th grade independent school sitting upon 19.5 hilly acres and serving 1,170 students. PBDW was commissioned to re-organize the Hill Campus’s existing Marc A. Zambetti Athletic Center, design a new Aquatic Center, and maximize the functionality of the school’s existing Student Center. We initially explored the possibilities of these and other design improvements through a master planning exercise. These explorations expanded the program to include a new elevator, internal stair connections, and reconfigured lobbies for both the Student Center and the Varsity Gym.

Our design for the new façade of the Zambetti building introduced formal and material enhancements which informed our treatment and design of the new Aquatic Center. We carefully considered the relationship of the existing Zambetti building to the intended site of the PBDW-designed Aquatic Center and chose to unify these expressions, strengthening their architectural dialogue and solidifying their presence on the hillside overlooking the Frank J. Bertino Memorial Field. The result is cohesive zone for athletics on the campus.

AT A GLANCE

New Construction (Aquatic Center)

Renovation (Zambetti and Student Center)

Hillside Construction

LEED Silver Certified (Aquatic Center)

SERVICES

Programming

Feasibility Study

Adaptive Reuse (Zambetti Training Gym)

Accessibility

HIGHLIGHTS

Competition Swimming Pool

Varsity Gym with All-School Assembly Seating

Façade Replacement (Zambetti Center)

Elevator Insertion (Zambetti Center)

Glass Media/Conference Room (Zambetti Center)

COLUMBIA GRAMMAR & PREPARATORY SCHOOL

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Working with Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School’s Strategic Plan, PBDW developed a Master Plan which identified renovation priorities and building opportunities within the school’s extensive campus. Over the past several years, PBDW has been working with CGPS on targeted renovations in all school divisions.

The renovated Prep School Dining Room elevates the utilitarian and dated cafeteria into a sophisticated dining hall. New finishes, seating options, acoustics, and servery equipment transform the crowded and loud space, and improve the flow at the various food service stations. As a result, more students are using the dining room throughout the day, alleviating overcrowding in other areas within the Prep School.

PBDW’s concept design for the Grammar School pool will provide adequate changing areas for students and faculty, increase natural light in the space, upgrade finishes and lighting, and upgrade the pool to meet current regulatory standards.

PBDW is currently designing the first phase of the Prep School renovation. The design includes a welcoming and refreshed entrance. The student commons is organized with fixed banquette seating and integrated displays which provide order to the space while allowing for flexibility of use. Solid partitions will be replaced with glass to create longer vistas, opening areas without physically enlarging them. The transparency into the renovated double height library, music department classrooms, and robotics lab will foster interdisciplinary interactions while highlighting the cuttingedge programming.

AT A GLANCE

Renovation

Phased construction

Interdisciplinary design

SERVICES

Master Planning

Programming

Architectural and interior design

HIGHLIGHTS

Multi-phase project

Buildings occupied during construction

Music suite with recording studio

Robotics lab