75 Morton Street

New York, New York

Firm

Ciardullo Associates

Client

New York City School Construction Authority

Area

171,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$98,800,000

Completion Date

09/2018

Stuart D. Phillips

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Design Team: John Ciardullo, Charles Heaphy, Brian Anderson, William Riley, Ardeny Goris

75 Morton Street, built in 1919 as a warehouse and modified through the years, has been renovated and converted into a public middle school. The challenging site and school program required creative solutions to provide innovative light-filled locations for learning.

Throughout the building, rooms are designed to minimize the disruption of the existing structure while creating visual interest. Corridors wind through the school and open onto common spaces. These areas enable students to interact with one another and fully realize the school’s mission to “inquire, question, create and evolve.” A green roof garden, which was requested by the community, was added to the program for outdoor learning and environmentally friendly design.

Years of neglect rendered the original façade beyond repair. The compromised exterior masonry wall was stripped and replaced with high-performance aluminum windows and a terracotta panel rainscreen system.

The adaptive reuse of this underused building beautifies a prominent corner in this ever-evolving neighborhood. Designed to foster learning and creativity, the building provides a much-needed facility available to serve students and the community.