learning spring

LEARNINGSPRING SCHOOL

AIA COTE AWARDS 2015


Founded in 2001 by a parent group, the LearningSpring School is a 108-student K through 8th grade private day school for children diagnosed on the autism spectrum. The new eight-story building is situated on the northwest corner of 20th Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. It contains a full range of academic, athletic, and special needs spaces arranged internally as a vertical campus, designed to support the special social, physical, and educational needs of its students.

The LearningSpring School was the very first educational facility in New York State to receive a LEED Gold certification under the rigorous LEED For Schools rating system. Higher-occupancy spaces, including the gymnasium, library, and lunchroom, as well as administrative functions, are located on the bottom two floors where the floor plates are the largest. Of the six upper stories, two are for lower school classrooms, two are for shared therapy and special education spaces, and two are for the upper school classrooms. Classrooms are paired as suites, sharing resource areas, quiet study rooms, and toilets. To provide ample opportunity for informal socialization, seating alcoves off corridors are spread through the building.

To protect the façades of the building from the unobstructed southeast exposure to the sun, and to provide a visual buffer from the busy intersection, the building is draped with an aluminum and stainless steel sunscreen supported by an external steel armature. Behind is an aluminum, glass and zinc curtain wall. Flanking the adjacent buildings to the north and west and extending along the base of the building is a terracotta rainscreen. Between the two systems is a vertical band of tubular channel glass marking important circulation spaces within.

Circulation between the floors is through a glass-enclosed communicating stair. Classrooms and corridors are finished with cork floors, bamboo casework, and natural wall fabrics, helping to produce a calm and intimate learning environment. The resulting architecture provides a welcoming and dignified representation of a group of children and their educators long underserved by the city’s schools.

Exterior view from street


Engagement Process + Integrative Design

The LearningSpring School exclusively serves children diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Its highly specialized curriculum is geared to address the academic, as well as the emotional, social, and physical needs of its students and their families. For its first ten years, LSS occupied two floors of a commercial office building. Fluorescent lights buzzed, colored paper was taped to the windows, and classrooms were cluttered. This was a challenging learning environment for the students, all of whom suffer from sensory sensitivity and can become agitated by negative environments. It was hard for the children to discover the joy of learning in a school that didn’t meet their needs.

We were hired to design a new larger facility that would accommodate their growing student population. From the beginning, it was obvious to our firm that in addition to more space, the school needed better space. The design team worked hand in hand with leading educators for special needs children, school faculty, administrators, and board members to ensure that the design would best serve the student population. Architectural solutions throughout were tailored to specifically address the needs of the students and their families, and a sustainable building was virtually synonymous with those requirements.

Students at LSS now have a building that contributes to their positive learning experience. Not only are they proud of their school, featuring it prominently in their artwork, but the building itself is contributing to their educational success.

Left: Corner classroomRight: Corner facade detail, and entrance


Local + Regional Site Response

The school is located in a mixed-use area containing retail, residential, and community facility uses. Public elementary and middle schools and a public playground are all located across the street. Neighboring building heights vary, ranging from four story townhouses, to twenty story apartment buildings. The school’s mass is composed of an eight-story portion occupying two-thirds of the site at the corner and a three-story portion on the remainder of the property. The composition creates a strong presence at the corner, while easing the transition to adjacent lower buildings along the avenue. Classrooms are located along the South and East perimeter of the floor-plates. While this location affords them the most light and views, it also places them along the noisiest areas in the building. A special environmental analysis was conducted to determine the most effective noise mitigation for these spaces. Enhanced acoustic isolation between the interior and exterior spaces, keeps students focused on their learning. Once inside, it is hard to tell that the school is located in the middle of New York City.

Bottom left: Site planBelow: Programmatic axonometric


Regional Resilience + Community Design

The planning process was fairly extensive as the needs of the students at LearningSpring are highly specialized. The process included numerous faculty and administrative programming meetings in addition to lectures given by experts on Autistic Spectrum Disorder. School administrators and board members, including parents of current and former students, participated in every step of the design process, from plan review, to finish and furniture selections, to signage design. The broader community was given the opportunity to review and comment on the design at community board meetings required for a zoning variance.

The school was designed as a vertical campus, subdivided into zones for elementary and middle schools, separated by two floors of shared specialized classrooms. Instead of shuttling children off-site for support services, physical education, and recess, the school now offers a holistic approach to education within a single facility.

The school chose a building site that affords the students an opportunity to interact with other students who are part of the wider general education population. It is located across the street from public elementary and middle schools, as well as a community playground. Administrators in all four schools take advantage of these adjacencies by organizing inter-school activities, and sharing playground facilities.

Second floor plan

First floor plan


Fifth floor planThird and fourth floor plan

Seventh and eighth floor planSixth floor plan


Passive Before Active

Due to the limiting zoning requirements of New York City, as well as the rigorous street grid, there was little opportunity for flexibility in both the massing of the facility as well as the location within the building site. However, program was distributed within the building to take advantage of light and views. Located on the northeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 20th Street, classrooms are arranged along the south and east perimeters of the building with the open views, while core spaces including restrooms and emergency stairs are located on the back of the building.

Exterior sunshades were incorporated into the east and south facades to optimize solar heat gain in the winter, while reducing it during the warmer months. This strategy, along with natural daylight and daylight sensors in most spaces, reduced the size of the HVAC system.

The school was designed to maximize the various types of learning spaces for the children, within a limited footprint. Classrooms for eight students and three teachers are paired in suites, sharing resource and study areas. To promote socialization, hallways double as informal extensions of the classrooms. Furnished with the same cork floors, bamboo millwork, and fabric wall coverings as the classrooms, they have seating alcoves which are used for instructional as well as casual activities.

Above: Sunlight diagramsRight: Occupational Therapy gym


Comfort + Delight

The needs of the LearningSpring students are virtually synonymous with the requirements for a sustainable building. They needed classrooms where the teachers could allow in daylight, but limit distracting views. They needed therapy rooms where students did not have to expend energy tuning out background noise, but could fully focus on the teacher. They needed natural materials that would not off-gas noxious chemicals.

Over 96% of all classroom and core learning spaces have direct access to daylight and views. Over 90% of all offices and workstations have individual control of lighting. Multi-occupant spaces are designed with multiple lighting zones and controls to tailor lighting levels to a variety of tasks. Occupancy sensors, solar, and blackout shades are provided for an added level of control. 82% of the offices and workstations have individual thermal controls. Multi-occupant spaces are designed with thermostats as well as operable windows for additional thermal control.

A limited color palate and warm, natural materials, create a calm learning environment. Colors, textures, and patterns of finishes were selected to limit distractions to students. All classrooms have the same color and style of student desks and chairs, but are sized appropriately for the grade level. Storage is provided within every classroom to minimize clutter.

Noise transfer is carefully controlled throughout the school. There is enhanced acoustical isolation between classrooms as well as the exterior. Cork floors are used throughout the classrooms and hallways to help absorb noise and limit sound transfer between the two spaces. The music room is fully isolated from the remainder of the building so that sound is not transferred through the building structure to the surrounding classroom.

Bottom left: Science ClassroomRight: Lower School Classroom


Water + Conservation

With the installation of low flow fixtures, dual flush water closets, and ultra-low flow lavatories the building reduced its potable water use by over 47% from a baseline design using standard flow fixtures. Through the installation of water efficient clothes washers, dishwashers, and kitchen sink faucets, the project has reduced process water use by at least 20% below the industry standard. Although minimal, the landscaping installed does not require permanent irrigation systems.

Energy Flow

Exterior mounted aluminum sunshades limit solar heat gain during warmer months, while allowing it during the winter months. Large expanses of glass in all regularly occupied areas minimize the need for artificial light in these rooms. Additionally, daylight and occupancy sensors help reduce the energy load on the building systems. HVAC systems include energy recovery units, to minimize energy needed to heat outside air. High-efficiency equipment further increase energy savings.

Bottom left: Stair, exterior viewRight: Garden


Materials + Construction

The building facades are composed of a terracotta rainscreen system, insulated zinc panels, and insulated low-e glazing. The cladding system is highly efficient and minimizes heat transfer between interior and exterior environments. Focus was placed on selecting materials that were natural, low-emitting, regional, and contained recycled content. Over 32% of the total building content have been manufactured using recycled materials. Over 22% of the total building materials includes materials or products that have been extracted and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site. Over 3% of the total materials used in the school are from rapidly renewable sources. Over 88% of the total wood based building materials were harvested from FSC certified forests. All indoor paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, and installed flooring systems are low emitting materials and comply with California state standards for the testing of VOC emissions from indoor sources. All classroom furniture and seating is GREENGUARD or GREENGUARD Children & Schools certified. Material waste was limited during the construction process. Over 64% of the construction waste generated on-site was diverted from landfills. This practice continues with recycling collection continuing as part of daily school routines.

Bottom left: Rainscreen wall and spandrel assembly (left) and curtain wall assembly (right)Right: Facade detail


Long Life + Loose Fit

Programming meetings revealed complex and varied program requirements that would require a building much larger than the site footprint would allow. While many learning spaces are fit-out to meet the specific requirements of various activities, including an occupational therapy gym, and teaching kitchen, others were designed with flexibility in mind. Smaller gym spaces are provided with ample closets so student seating is readily available, but can be cleared out when not needed. Folding cafeteria tables have a dedicated storage room, enabling the faculty to easily move them out, converting the room into a large indoor play area. The gymnasium is easily subdivided to accommodate two smaller groups simultaneously, as well as large all school assemblies.

Finishes and systems were selected with durability in mind. The school understands that not only is the up-front cost important, but the total cost of ownership is critical to the environmental stewardship of the school. Exterior sunshades, ample daylight, and daylight and occupancy sensors reduce the energy load on the building systems. HVAC systems were designed for operational efficiencies, including energy recovery units, to minimize energy needed to heat outside air. A BMS system has been integrated to ensure that the system, as a whole, is operating at optimal performance. All systems were commissioned, at both the design and post-construction phases to ensure that they are operating as intended.

Right: Faculty office


Collective Wisdom + Feedback Loops

A post occupancy survey was generated based on the Dillon and Vischer model and included questions on a number of topics including and related to thermal comfort and general user satisfaction. The survey was given to the faculty and staff as part of staff meetings. Teachers of the upper school classes, grades 6-8, were asked to poll their students in a simplified manner to gain some insight from the children as well.

The school worked with a third-party commissioning agent to ensure that all systems were performing, post-construction, as they were intended. A systems manual was created that provides all future operating staff the information needed to understand and optimally operate the commissioned systems. The operating personnel were trained in the operations and maintenance of the various building systems. The commissioning agent provided a follow up visit within the first year of operations to review with the facilities team the current building operation and resolution of any outstanding issues.

Post-construction, we have maintained close contact with the Head of School, Margaret Poggi. She has shared feedback, both positive and negative, with the firm. Despite best efforts, the school is still facing the ongoing challenge of insufficient storage. The building management systems were complicated for a facilities team that was used to a more simplified HVAC system. But more often, her stories are ones of success. Absenteeism is down for both students and faculty. Classes are more productive since students can focus more on their studies. Teachers feel less tired after long days on their feet. Happiness permeates the school.

Bottom left: LibraryRight: Interior view of stair

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