P.S. 234 Walkway
292 Greenwich Street, New York
Tel: 212.294.2940
Designer: Macrae-Gibson Architects
Children at PS 234 have a new walkway to shelter them as they move between school buildings on their Kindergarten through 5th-grade Tribeca campus. Designed by Macrae-Gibson Architects, the concrete and painted steel passage is the last piece of the Annex project the architects completed in 2008 in the Costas Kondylis-designed building next to the original brick school.
Because Annex funding was devoted to creating as many student seats as possible, the school used alternate funds to build the walkway, which meant the structure had to be unenclosed and unheated so as not to contribute to the school’s FAR. Macrae-Gibson designed an L-shaped ramp that follows the perimeter of the school’s play yard and skirts a popular neighborhood dog run.
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Interior view of Macrae-Gibson’s P.S. 234 walkway (left) and an entrance to the school’s courtyard (right).
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“We didn’t want to close of the playground and make it feel smaller, and we didn’t want the walkway to feel like a tube,” said firm principal Gavin Macrae-Gibson. Perforated rectangular and trapezoidal powder coated panels in four colors hang at angles from red connecting beams, offering children a glimpse of their play space as they pass through the enclosure.
The colorful connector glows brightly at night, highlighting its undulating lines.
From the outside, the walkway adds life to the concrete yard. “It’s very colorful and playful, it’s not a classroom,” said Macrae-Gibson. “You could think of it as play equipment.” Colored plastic gels over fluorescent bulbs soften the passageway’s lighting, giving it a colorful glow.
Since its completion, teachers and students at school have been grateful for the walkway’s shelter, and neighborhood residents have come to appreciate the addition of its colorful geometry to the street. The panels echo the facades of nearby condominiums. “I think it’s a very contextual building,” said Macrae-Gibson, adding “but that’s the world of adults and condos and real estate. This is the world of children and play.”