Category Archives: featured-projects

Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School

The Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School is the first new school in the City of Yonkers in over 20 years. Based on the $2.4 Billion Yonkers Public Schools Modernization Plan developed by KG+D for Yonkers Public Schools, this new community school is part of the Rebuild Yonkers Schools initiative – a four phase, 13-year project to rebuild all 39 existing public schools. The project became a reality thanks to Mayor Mike Spano, the Yonkers State delegation—Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Senator and Education Committee Chair Shelley B. Mayer—former Superintendent Edward Quezada, and the Yonkers Joint Schools Construction Board. The school was named after the nearby Bronx native, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Built on the site of the former St. Denis Catholic School, the 95,000sf facility houses 675 students in grades Pre-K through 8th and includes spaces for art, science, special projects, dual language curriculum, and computer science.

The building’s exterior design takes cues from the remaining and adjacent St. Denis Church as well as the neighboring apartment building. The Lawrence Street façade was inspired by the verticality of the Church including its bay windows and stone cladding. The McLean Avenue façade complements the massing of the adjacent apartment building. The main stairwell, located on the corner of McLean and Lawrence, features window walls that reconnect the school to the city.

The main entry opens to a spacious cafeteria which features stadium stairs, recessed booth seating, and access to an interior outdoor courtyard. In addition to the cafeteria, the first floor also houses the Pre-K classrooms which have direct access to outdoor spaces. Barn doors divide the classrooms to allow for interclass collaboration. Each of the classroom floors are color coded for easy wayfinding and the upper school corridors provide “moments” or opportunities for casual collaboration. These moments include seating cubbies, a collaboration corner, a media center, and makers space. The corridors also have television monitors for school notices and announcements. To foster relationships and aid in access, administrative offices are interspersed on each of the classroom wing levels.

The Community Building—which has a separate entrance located on Van Cortlandt Park Avenue—houses the physical education wing and a community health clinic that function as a stand-alone community resource after school hours and on the weekends. The corridor that connects the academic and community building features the stone ‘School’ sign from the former St. Denis School and a display case highlighting the former building’s history and the genesis of the new facility.

The school’s sustainable features include photo voltaic solar panels, green roofs, high-efficiency electric heat pumps, extensive natural daylighting with sunshades, low water use plumbing fixtures, fresh air ventilation with MERV 13 filtration, LED light fixtures, recycled content in materials and low VOC interior finishes and furnishings.

LMC Media: Studio on the Avenue

LMC Media’s Studio on the Avenue brings together a vision for positive community engagement with contemporary design, state of the art engineering, and high-quality construction. One of LMC’s driving forces throughout the design process was to make it easy for community members to engage with the studio from the sidewalk, to witness the technical work taking place in the green room, and to participate in the studio in podcasts being recorded.

The community’s experience of the studio begins at the street, where passersby can see into the space and watch the production staff working in the green room. The audio-visual recording equipment in the green room can be seen through the storefront glass and the space itself includes a built-in workspace and furniture that allows guests to visit and observe. From the green room, one can see clearly into the studio space where the living room-type furniture compliments the existing brick wall to create a cozy, inviting, and intimate space for podcast hosts and their guests. Off camera and along one wall in the studio are editing stations, above which are textured acoustic panels to help control the sound in the space. Close attention was paid to acoustics throughout the project from the design and construction of the glass wall system enclosing the studio, to the acoustic ceiling treatments, to the choice of finishes that shape the ambience.

Studio on the Avenue was designed to support the community. By creating a place where people feel welcome and inspired to tell their stores, in turn, the community is truly helping to support the Studio.

Brooklawn Country Club

KG+D Architects collaborated with the Brooklawn Country Club on renovating key event spaces on the main level of their beloved 100-year-old, 40,000 sf, Clubhouse. Brooklawn’s vision for the project was to “honor the past while adapting to the lifestyles of the present” and KG+D worked tirelessly with the Club’s Building Committee to ensure that every detail reflected that idea.

The primary goals of the project were to: improve circulation flow and daylighting within the event rooms, increase the useability of the exterior patio space, and improve the arrival sequence and accessibility, all while creating an updated, yet timeless atmosphere.

Nyack UFSD Elementary + Middle School Global Learning Commons

KG+D began collaborating with Nyack Public Schools on a district wide master plan for their library and media center facilities. Our team then worked with the District to renovate and redesign their district’s libraries into Global Learning Commons. The renovated spaces more purposefully align with the instructional programming, facilitated the appropriate use of technology, provided learning and working space, minimized stacks, and utilized various types of furniture including soft seating.

Dutchess BOCES, Alternative High School @ Salt Point Campus

A 69,000sf Alternative High School will create a permanent and suitable home for a significantly underserved county-wide student body. The programs currently located at the BETA rental site will be relocated and consolidated to the Salt Point Campus. The new facility is conceived as a community asset with a state-of-the-art conference center available to all component Districts and community organizations. Paired renovations of the Career & Technical Institute will address aging facilities and have been planned to maximize space utilization during the day and evening programming opportunities for the Adult Learning Institute. This project is paired with a separate Energy Performance Project.

Nice-Pak Inc. Corporate Headquarters

The goal of the Nice-Pak project was to modernize their corporate headquarters and to translate their innovative approach for manufacturing into the built environment by maximizing natural light, highlighting sustainability and health, and seeking ways to marry their brand and mission within their office space. The project scope renovated key spaces in a contemporary, sophisticated way that created a visually compelling and comfortable work environment for Nice-Pak’s employees and visitors.

Ossining Children’s Center

The Ossining Children’s Center has been a fixture of the local community for over 100 years and the goal of this project was to continue that tradition while bringing the facility into the 21st century. The new 28,000sf Arthur Samberg Building is a 3-story purpose-built childcare facility that replaced and consolidated OCC’s former outdated Victorian buildings. The structure is thoughtfully oriented on a 2.5-acre site to work within site limitations and optimize the views of the Hudson River. The program includes 14 classrooms for up to 225 children in age groups ranging from infants up to 12-year-olds. The facility also includes outdoor play areas for each age group, administration space, kitchen and a multipurpose space that can be used for indoor play, lunch and community events.

Horace Greeley High School, Sustainability Research Center

KG+D worked with the Chappaqua Central School District to develop a Sustainability Research Center on the Horace Greeley High School campus. At the public-school level, the Center is the first of its kind in the region: a free-standing, 2,000sf, climate controlled, multi-zoned, glass research laboratory. The SRC offers all the tools necessary for students to conduct biological and ecological research year-round and provides students the opportunity to explore the impact of climate change.

The Ursuline School

The goal of The Ursuline School project was to create a new front to a complex of buildings that reflected the quality of the educationalvexperience being offered within. The 1960’s wing provided an outdated and inappropriate first impression of this high performing school. It was also critical to provide an accessible gathering space for the arrival and departure of students.

The design solution created active learning spaces and community gathering areas that supported the school’s leading-edge teaching. The scope of work included the addition of a welcome center, admissions office, a student commons, a STEAM Center, and the development of a courtyard commons.

Putnam Valley High School, Health & Wellness Center

The Putnam Valley Central School District’s Health and Wellness Center was designed to support and enable active learning opportunities as well as meet the needs of student-athletes and community programs. The Center, the first of its kind in the region, includes a 140×80 turf athletic field with a perimeter area for walking/jogging, a netting system to divide the spaces, batting cages, and an area for digital instruction including wall mounted tables and Kinesiology Wall.

Eastchester High School

The Eastchester High School project upgraded and expanded key instructional spaces to meet the academic demands of a 21st Century Education while accommodating a significant increase in enrollment. In order to address both of the 1927 High Schools’ challenges, the design solution sought to create Collegiate quality social and student support space while also creating collaborative, forward-thinking Next Generation learning environments.

SUNY Purchase College, Physical Education Building

The 1973 Physical Education Building was designed by the campus master plan architect, Edward Larrabee Barnes. It had many masonry issues, an inaccessible main entrance, a failed roof and 200-foot-long ridge skylight. A completely re-designed main entry sequence includes a new plaza, a channel glass vestibule, a curved balcony that connects the entry to the elevator. All of the windows and the ridge skylight were replaced utilizing brighter energy efficient framing and glazing. The most pressing needs were not only addressed but also the causes for the problems were diagnosed and solved within the original budget constraints. This results in a renewed facility that is brighter, more energy efficient and a healthier indoor environment.

SUNY Purchase College, Dining Hall

The 1972 Dining Hall was designed by Gwathmey & Siegel. The single glazed storefront and windows were replaced with high performance curtain wall and insulated glass incorporating more operable windows for natural ventilation and to reduce overheating. The design approach utilized “blind” mullions to conceal the multiple forms of new glazing so that the original appearance of monumental sheets of single pane glass was not altered. The addition of an exterior shading system also minimizes heat gain. An exterior stair and entry was rebuilt to the lower level to provide a more direct access route for students. This pathway is critical to re-position the building on the paths that students actually use rather than how the original design anticipated student movement.

Scarsdale High School, Learning Commons + Design Lab

The Learning Commons was developed in the original gymnasium and is comprised of the main floor and a new mezzanine level. A “learning stair” connects the two levels providing an easy connection and creating informal “stadium-like” seating for gathering and performance. On both levels, the main spaces are flanked by two glass-fronted small group spaces that can be used for conferences, group work, or small classes.

Scarsdale High School, Fitness Center

The overarching goal of the Scarsdale High School project was to maximize underutilized areas of the building in order to create modern fitness facilities supportive of the High School’s Next Generation student. The Fitness Center was relocated to a former storage room with large windows and direct access to the playing fields. The concept includes a central area with cardio equipment and a stretching and free weight area in addition to two distinct weight training stations. The space was designed to provide adequate year-round training for the full range of athletic teams and support the physical education curriculum, which emphasizes lifelong fitness.

Wilton Family YMCA

The Wilton Family YMCA has been a community resource since 1972. Over its almost 50-year history, the needs of the community evolved, and the Y’s physical space required a thoughtful plan for renovation and expansion that would effectively reflect and accommodate that evolution and growth. The design team collaborated with the Wilton Family Y to help them reimagine their existing facility.

The design solution reconstructed the central core of the building creating an addition that unites the gym, pools, and fitness areas. The addition includes a renovated and expanded lobby and reception area, a second story health/wellness center that includes an expanded fitness center, new and renovated early childhood classrooms, a new pool bubble for the outdoor 50M pool, and new administrative spaces. The project also incorporated circulation, parking and drop off improvements.

Yale University, Carol Roberts Field House

KG+D collaborated with Yale University on a fieldhouse for their field hockey and softball teams. The building is the first of its kind at Yale–a comprehensive space that meets the needs of two women’s teams funded by a woman. Situated between Johnson Field and Corral Field, the 5,900-square-foot facility includes locker rooms, a training room, a satellite coaches’ office, a team meeting space, and a second-story observation roof deck featuring a glass-walled event space.

JFK Elementary School

The design team collaborated with the Brewster Central School District to complete key renovation and addition projects that transformed the JFK Elementary School into a Next Generation school. The project included a six-classroom addition, a library and cafeteria expansion and the renovation of the auditorium and roundhouse learning spaces.

Middletown High School, Innovation Lab

The overarching goal for the Middletown High School project was to ‘build out the feeling of poverty’ and create a larger vision of a school that didn’t feel economically restrained. The project developed a 10,000sf, technology infused, learning commons at the high school’s center as well as a 28,000sf addition with a 1760sf innovation space, new entry sequence and connection to a new classroom wing.

Trinity Pawling, Smith Field House

The Smith Field House project involved an addition that joined multiple disconnected athletic facilities—including a gymnasium, wrestling pavilion, squash courts and ice rink—to create a central athletic hub on campus. At approximately 30,000sf, the field house is now the largest building on campus, and it houses a gymnasium with two full basketball courts with upper-level spectator seating, a half court with workout space, a new main entry and lobby space, a terrace gathering spaces and an Alumni and Athletic Hall of Fame Room.

Bronxville High School, Auditorium Restoration

Originally built in 1922, the Bronxville School auditorium was urgently in need of reconfiguration and restoration. In spite of ongoing work to maintain the facility, by 2012 the auditorium was in a state of disrepair with missing seats, poor lighting, improper sightlines, and non-functional balcony that was no longer in use. Additionally, a 1960s renovation created a false proscenium over the original and closed in the tall windows on both sides of the auditorium. As a result, the renovated proscenium swallowed performance sound and the lack of natural light reduced the auditorium’s flexibility.

Le Chateau

The design team collaborated with Elegant Banquets on the renovation of the former Le Chateau restaurant into a banquet hall for weddings and events. The project included an addition of a banquet hall/event space with a dance floor and adjacent bar and renovations to the spaces connecting the existing structure including pre-function spaces and the cocktail lounge.

Fairview Country Club

The Fairview Country Club’s goal was to maximize the club’s offerings to its clients, without changing the structure that guests have come to know and enjoy. The project added two outdoor terraces and a grill room and renovated the main dining room, the lounge and lobby.

The reimagined entry sequence sought to create a memorable first impression that established the tone and feel of the club overall. The first touch point is open and welcoming and provides views to the new East Terrace and golf course.

Yale University, Golf Learning Center + Driving Range

The design team collaborated with a higher education institution to develop a new Golf Learning Center and Driving Range that matched and supported their prestigious athletic programming. The design process explored several options with the final solution being a single-story facility with indoor/outdoor practice areas overlooking a new driving range. The facility includes Women’s and Men’s Golf Team Suites, a flexible Training Pavilion, and outdoor gathering and viewing terraces.

Post Road Elementary School

The project for the Post Road Elementary School involved the replacement of an aging traditional 1914 school building with a vibrant 21st Century educational facility that has earned an Energy Star rating of 100 and at the time completion it was the most energy-efficient public school in New York State. The goal was to create an inviting and engaging neighborhood school that supported the district’s emerging programming and enrollment needs while utilizing responsible design solutions.

Jacob Burns Film Center, Media Arts Lab

The Media Arts Lab at the Jacob Burns Film Center is a 27,000sf education center offering instructional programs in many forms of filmmaking and multi-media production. The Film Center’s mission is grounded in developing 21st century literacy skills, including critical viewing and production skills which are essential for a generation growing up in a world in which media and technology are increasingly the way we communicate, participate in community and engage in democracy and the global economy. The demand for this program curriculum led the Film Center to launch a Campaign for 21st Century Education to provide for the design and construction of a “center for celebrating the stories that live in each and every person:” The Media Arts Lab.

The U.S. Green Building Council recognized the MAL for process and results in sustainable design by awarding it with LEED Gold certification. Key sustainable features of note include extensive day lighting, geothermal wells, photovoltaic panels, a green roofing system, low/no-flow plumbing fixtures, and local and recycled building materials. The facility was constructed on the site of an existing building which was deconstructed with 85% of the building materials being recycled. The owners were motivated by the concept that a building itself could function as an educational tool and “green fact” signs throughout the building call out sustainable features and elements with explanations and notes on the impact of choices.

Seven Bridges Middle School

The new Seven Bridges School is a 160,000 sf middle school that was built on a wooded 43-acre site. The campus is accessed from a long uphill winding driveway paralleling a feeder brook adjacent to the Croton Reservoir. The driveway connects into a perfectly circular loop road that wraps around the new school and lower athletic playing field. Symbolically, this physical and educational plan represents the development of both mind and body together. The building consists of classic materials including brick, cast limestone, natural wood detailing, and copper roofs. The design nestles into the slope of the site, and is one story on the uphill side and two-and-a-half stories from the approach up the driveway.

Pleasantville High School

This complex renovation and expansion of a traditional 1929 brick school building involved the addition of two new major wings at the front of the building and complete infrastructure replacement and restoration. New spaces included a new, state-of-the-art library/media center with telecast capability, science wing, cafeteria, guidance suite and administration. Infrastructure included heating plan replacement, HVAC, window replacement, replicate of slate roof, and masonry restoration.

Orange-Ulster BOCES Regional Education Center at Arden Hill

Orange Ulster BOCES Regional Education Center at Arden Hill was a major adaptive reuse project of the former Arden Hill Hospital Campus. The project goal was to create a renovated facility that consolidated current programs in close proximity to the neighboring BOCES campus and provided space for increase enrollment and additional offerings. The challenge was to create a facility that was unrecognizable as a hospital campus and clearly identifiable as a welcoming and engaging learning environment.

The Harvey School, Arts Center

KG+D completed a new 24,100sf new Arts Center for The Harvey School. The visual and performing arts facility includes music, art and photography classrooms, video and dance studios and a gallery to display student work. The centerpiece of the project is a 3,400 sq. ft. black box theater designed to seat more than 200. The theater has movable partitions that open to create space for audience overflow into the gallery and as well as a flexible stage that can be moved to accommodate a variety of performances.

Trinity Pawling School, Faculty Housing

KG+D designed 10 units of faculty housing for Trinity Pawling School with a central green and commons. The objective of the new housing was to attract and retain talented faculty and staff. The new housing units include one large mult-family residence building known as “The Arches” and three single family homes. The physical design is in the tradition of the campus’ original aesthetic and the interior design blends traditional style with contemporary living.

Bedford Road Elementary School

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.