Projects

PAVE Academy Charter School

Artboard Created with Sketch.
Exterior Entrance
Exterior Entrance
Playground
Playground
Lobby
Lobby
Cafeteria
Cafeteria
Classroom
Classroom
Gym
Gym
Corridor
Corridor
Courtyard
Courtyard
Location
Brooklyn, New York
Client
PAVE Academy
Area
43,700 SF
Certifications
LEED Silver
Awards
2014 Honor Award, AIA/CAE Education Facility Design Awards Program
2014 Building Brooklyn Design Award
2014 Best K-12 Project, ENR New England

PAVE Academy Charter School is a 450-seat K-8 public charter school founded on the belief that a strong school can transform a community. The school is a three-story 43,000 square-foot building with a front play yard and rear courtyard. It accommodates 18 full-size homeroom classrooms, 3 shared classrooms for science, art, and music, a cafeteria with kitchen, a gymnasium, and administrative spaces.

The Academy’s core values of perseverance, achievement, vibrancy and excellence are included as bold graphic texts covering the walls throughout the building, embracing and surrounding the children with encouraging words. Informal study and meeting spaces in the corridors provide opportunities for group projects, as well as study and interaction among students of all ages.

Building Program

Creating a Strong Welcoming Presence in the Neighborhood

PAVE Academy is located directly across from the Red Hook Houses, one of the oldest and largest public housing projects in the City. In order to create a strong welcoming presence in the neighborhood, the building’s massing was designed with a setback at the corner to better engage with the surrounding context.

This setback marks the entry and allows the playground at the front of the school to create a relationship with the open space directly across the street.
The lively colors of the façade and playground are visible from the street, creating an inviting environment where children and parents often linger and socialize before and after school.