The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School relocated to Building 550 on Governors Island in September of 2010 and became one of the first non-military tenants since the transfer of the island to the people New York. The building was originally built as a barracks in 1940 and transformed in 1992 to a medical/ dental clinic for the Coast Guard. Conversion to school use required a complete renovation including all mechanical and electrical systems as well as interior construction. Located in the Historic District, repairs to the exterior were informed by the neighboring built environment.
The school integrates New York City’s unique maritime resources, culture and history into an enhanced and challenging high school curriculum. Along with the standard classrooms and administration spaces for the 435-seat school, the building includes marine science classrooms where students will raise lobsters, oysters and tilapia as well as wood and metal marine technology shops for boat building. Architectural elements of the original building take on new significance in the school layout. The existing verandas which extend continuously along the upper floors on either side of the main entrance were preserved, not as programmed space, but as flexible places allowing direct access to the exterior, blurring the edge between inside and out.
On arrival at the school, students walk through the courtyard which boasts a student grown organic vegetable garden and basketball court. Entering the lobby of the building, students can observe a giant New York Harbor estuarium stocked with native species. Not only an exhibit for study, the tank is built with a glass back panel to allow students to understand the engineering involved in keeping the system, and living organisms, alive. As part of the school’s hands-on approach to learning, students will eventually take over its care and maintenance.
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