Browning School
Browning School
Gymnasium
New main stair
Project Information
The Browning School
New York City, NY
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Vertical Campus
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Renovation
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Transformation
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56,500 sf
Honors and Awards
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2017 AIA Westchester/Hudson Valley High Honor Award
The Browning School is a 56,500 sf K-12 college preparatory school for boys, located on East 62nd Street in New York City. It occupies 12 levels on three adjacent buildings: the original school building from 1922 on the east side, a carriage house in the center, and the lower floors of an apartment building on the west side. The spaces within these buildings were dark, cramped, and difficult to navigate.
After completing comprehensive Master Plan, we completely reorganized the public circulation and transformed the school.
Section perspective with new main staircase
Section perspective with new main staircase
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The central core of the building was completely redesigned. The original stairs were kept on the east side of the building, and a new light-filled stair was constructed on the west side; in the center, a new south-facing atrium stair brings natural light deep inside the building. A new multi-stop elevator was installed to access the different levels and provide ADA access.
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A new public zone was created with an expanded lobby, a gymnasium, a dining room, and a library. The upper levels include four new science laboratories, two new art studios, and additional classrooms. Transparency between these spaces heightens the sense of spaciousness and activity.
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Spaces for art instruction include separate studios for the Lower School and Upper School. A maker space across from the new library is used collaboratively for science and digital art projects. The school's dining room, with its large expanses of wall space, also serves as an art gallery for displaying student work.
Browning School Library
View from library to new central stair
View from the lobby to the gym and library (right)
With a student population of 400, the school had only one library for all grade levels. The key planning decision was to move the library from its remote location on the 3rd floor to a visible location on the 1st floor, and create separate library spaces for the Lower and Upper Schools.
The library is now immediately adjacent to the school's new, central, transparent staircase. In this location, a variety of library spaces have been accommodated. The multi-level plan helps to organize the spaces for younger and older students. The upper level includes shared, flexible space and access to the outdoor reading terrace to the south; a glass wall separates this from the space for younger students. At the lower level, spaces are devoted to the older students for individual and collaborative work. A reading nook is located between the two levels, adjacent to the central glass stair. Across the central stair hallway at the lower level is the maker space, which is separated acoustically from the rest of the library.
In this transformation of Browning, the most important public spaces—the lobby, the gymnasium, the dining hall and the library—are now visible to each other, to the students, and to visitors.
Browning School-Visual Arts
Upper school art studio
Lower school art studio
Art gallery
Upper school art studio
The Browning School is a 56,500 sf K-12 college preparatory school for boys, located on East 62nd Street in New York City. It occupies 12 levels on three adjacent buildings. The circulation was confusing, and the school was dark, cramped and difficult to navigate. Our renovation transformed the disjointed school into a coherent diagram with more access to natural light.
Spaces for art instruction include separate studios for the Lower School and Upper School. A maker space across from the new library is used collaboratively for science and digital art projects. The school's dining room, with its large expanses of wall space, also serves as an art gallery for displaying student work.