Reggio Emilia School

Cooper Union, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture

Project idea

The project is a Reggio Emilia school in Bronx, NY. The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy that places the students at the head of the curriculum, letting children guide their own learning and explorations of the world using their own languages of expressions. The three core elements of Reggio Emilia is the child, the environment, and the teacher. The building simultaneously acts as a community center, including a research library, an archive, and a community kitchen and rooftop garden.

Project description

A solid mass fills the site, in continuity with the Bronx’ poche blocks. Simple geometries are subtracted from the solid infill. The subtractions create collective programmatic spaces like the library, group play area, dining hall, etc. The geometries have moments of intersection, creating an interconnected network of spaces, movement, and events, creating an environment prone to unexpected encounters, exploration, freedom, and play. The more private, service programs such as administrative offices, bathrooms, conventional classrooms, reading rooms, kitchen, etc. are placed within the leftover poche.

Technical information

While the experience of the subtracted collective spaces raises the question of “what’s around the corner,” the discovery of hidden program in the poche raises the question of “what’s inside the corner.”

Documentation

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