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Elizabeth North and Pennsylvania Avenue Elizabeth , NJ 07201 |
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Designing a school in an urban environment offers the opportunity to make an impact on the neighborhood, broadening the education of both the children and adults. This school is a formal, engaging, and open forum celebrating the diversity of the neighborhood for its residents and visitors. The new 120,000-square-foot school accommodates 750 students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. The academic wing is a three-story structure housing general classrooms, science labs, music classrooms, an art classroom and a media center. The first floor houses the Pre-K and Kindergarten students; it is equipped with a practice kitchen for life-skills instruction and an auxiliary gymnasium for the early childhood students. The second floor is designated for grades 1-4, band and vocal music classrooms, an art classroom and a technology classroom. grades 5-8 occupy the third floor as well as the media center, science classrooms and science labs. The gymnasium and cafetorium spaces, which are open to the public, are located at the opposite end of the building from the academic wing. This allows the classrooms to be secure when the school is closed and aids in separating the recreational zones from the instructional zones of the building. The administrative offices lie on the ground floor directly off the vestibule allowing full visibility of all visitors while providing after hours accessibility to the staff. By situating the academic wing to the north and east of the lot and the gymnasium along the west, the building creates an enclosed courtyard for outdoor activities while protecting the students from the busy urban streets. The playground, similar to the academic wing, is designated by grade level; early childhood, elementary and intermediate level students each have their own space for recreation. The building was designed to include two rooftop cupolas, one located over the band classroom and one at the corner of North and Newark Avenue over the media center. The media center – the information center of the building - will stand as a beacon above this major intersection, marking this gateway into the City of Elizabeth. USA Architects is the Architect on Record, while Bovis Lend Lease is serving as the Project Management Firm. Bergen Engineering Company is the general contractor. Design Start: 01/13/03 Construction start: 06/30/04 Site acreage: 2-3 acres School Opened: 09/6/06 |