The Harbor Middle School campus is a 550-student special purpose public school facility serving 6th-8th Grades which also accommodates a separate NYC District 75 facility. It is located on an L-shaped site encompassing two tax lots within a flood zone in the industrial Red Hook section of Brooklyn, fronting on Delevan, Richards and Verona Streets.
The design features a large playground at the Verona St. entry across from Coffey Park. The distinctly marked entrances are located on Verona and Delevan and connected by a through-lobby. the various materials used on the facade help to break down the scale of the school, visually separating the classroom bar from the gym, cafeteria and pool areas. This school will be one of the only new aquatic facilities to be built for the NYCSCA in recent history.
The harbor middle school curriculum is focused on interdisciplinary maritime project based learning. Waves and ammonite shells are some of the water based themes that have been integrated into the exterior facade, building elements, the interior walls and flooring, that could be utilized as teaching tools.
The program for the new school will provide: Instruction Rooms, Grades 6-8 Socialized Instruction Rooms (Music, Art, Science), Assembly space with stage and seating, Gymnatorium, Exercise Room, Office and Storage spaces, Library, Student Support Areas (Guidance, Medical), Supervisory Offices, Parent/Community Room, Cafeteria/Kitchen Complex, Pool Facilities, and Custodial Support Areas. The design goals addressed in the development of the design include: providing visual security for all playground areas, promoting sustainable practices that can be used as teaching tools, accommodating a 25 years short course indoor swimming pool with locker rooms, storage, and maintenance systems, efficient compliance with prescribed program, program stacking & organization that promotes flexibility of facility operation, providing accessibility and support for student with special needs, and providing a design that is cost efficient to build, operate and maintain.
