Location:Pleasantville, NY
Size:90,000 square feet
Completion Date:2003
Awards:AIA WHV Citation Award
This new K-4 school is a traditional village school that replaced Pleasantville’s original Bedford Road School, built in 1909. The design program led to a new building that is nearly twice the size of the earlier school and follows a house plan, with separate areas for kindergarten, and grades 1-2 and 3-4. By locating the kindergarten house close to the front entrance, Kindergarteners receive a “slow entry” into the public school environment. Every kindergarten room has its own toilet room and exit doors to exterior play areas and gardens. This floor plan eliminates the need for younger children to regularly cross paths with older children, even when traveling to shared spaces such as the cafeteria and gymnasium.
The new facility features a mini-theatre and full-size gymnasium on the north end of the school that can be closed off and utilized by the community outside of school hours. The cafeteria has expansive windows and skylights that allow in natural light creating a bright and inviting common space. Connecting classrooms support team teaching and provide added security. Other major elements include music and art suites, and a large library with a stepped reading alcove and adjacent technology classroom.
Bedford Road school rendering.
Located on a tight site in the center of a residential village, design elements such as peaked roofs and arches reflect the style of the neighboring houses and bring down the scale of the 90,000 sf building, and its red brick exterior is reminiscent of the original 1909 building.