By Lindsey Coulter��

A 58,000-square-foot expansion at P.S. 87 in the Wakefield section of the Bronx is reshaping both the school’s footprint and its long-term performance. Designed by RKTB Architects for the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA), the project delivers 17 new classrooms for grades preK-5, eight special education classrooms, art and music studios, a guidance suite, and expanded administrative and medical offices.��

But the intervention extends well beyond added square footage. The project reframes the campus around universal accessibility, all-electric building��systems��and a contemporary gymnasium-auditorium, while modernizing circulation and shared spaces within the existing 1930s structure.��

“More than an expansion, our work to address P.S. 87 is a modernization effort,” said Albert Aronov, AIA, principal at RKTB and head of the firm’s academic studio. “Now the school is equipped with elevators and new restrooms that can accommodate students,��faculty��and staff with the widest range of accessibility needs. We also introduced central air conditioning and heating for the addition, as well as��a state-of-the-art��combined gymnasium-auditorium.”��

The result is a unified campus designed to meet contemporary pedagogical, performance and community expectations.��

Phasing Construction on an Active Campus��

Delivering a major addition��on��a fully occupied elementary school site in a dense residential neighborhood required precise phasing and operational coordination. Limiting disruption to instructional time — while��maintaining��life-safety and code compliance — was a central priority.��

“The biggest challenge was to complete the construction within the shortest possible timeline, in order to limit the disruptions to the work of teachers and students and any inconvenience to neighbors in this primarily residential neighborhood of Bronx, NY,” Aronov said. “We worked closely with the New York City School Construction Authority on a solution that combines a steel frame with concrete insulated panels. This approach is atypical for SCA, but they recognized its value not only because it shortened the construction timeline significantly but also because of the resulting high-performing building envelope with superior thermal performance, efficiency, and durability.”��

RKTB coordinated closely with SCA’s construction management team, school��leadership��and the Department of School Facilities to map daily circulation patterns and��identify��sensitive zones.��

“Working on an active, fully occupied school facility with a goal of uninterrupted operations requires an approach centered on safety, continuity, and careful planning,” Aronov said. “When existing exits or corridors had to be temporarily closed, the design team prepared temporary egress plans that maintain full code compliance and ensure safe, intuitive movement throughout the school during each construction phase.”��

The strategy allowed the campus to function continuously while major structural and��systems��work��proceeded.��

A Contemporary System Within a Neighborhood Context��

While the structural system and envelope represent a contemporary departure from typical SCA practice, the addition was carefully calibrated to��harmonize with��the surrounding low-rise houses and apartment buildings.��

“School buildings are the heart of the communities they serve, often used not only for instruction but for other community uses as well, so the aesthetics and interplay with neighboring properties matters a lot,” Aronov said. “To harmonize with the architectural context of houses and low-rise apartment buildings, the design solution applies a varied façade of blue, dark grey, and traditional clay red brick veneer, with setbacks to break up the massing and modulate the building profile.”��

Brick veneer integrated into precast insulated panels creates visual continuity while enhancing envelope performance. Continuous floor levels��connect��the addition and original building, reinforcing a seamless interior experience for students and staff.��

Site improvements further extend the school’s community presence. A rebuilt schoolyard includes a turf field and running track, basketball court, early childhood��playground��and public sitting area. A metal canopy and flagpole mark the new main entrance at street level.��

Universal Accessibility as a Design Framework��

The modernization��addressed��accessibility comprehensively, extending improvements beyond code minimums.��

“Opportunities to improve accessibility were identified both in the addition and in the existing building, which dates back to the 1930s, long before accessible was a design consideration,” Aronov said. “First, the fully accessible street-level entrance to the expansion became the new main entrance to the entire school. Then our design ensures that the addition and existing building are connected seamlessly on every floor, creating a unified interior that anyone can access using the new elevator on the expansion side.”��

New fully accessible boys,��girls��and unisex restrooms were inserted on every floor at the junction of the new and existing structures. Specialized classrooms created from former office space were designed for full accessibility, and drinking fountains and other legacy elements were upgraded.��

The gymnasium-auditorium and cafeteria — supported by��a state-of-the-art��commercial kitchen — were also designed as inclusive, shared environments capable of supporting assemblies,��performances��and community events.��

Performance Standards and All-Electric Operations��

Performance goals were shaped by SCA’s Green Schools Guide, a framework widely regarded as comparable in rigor to LEED for Schools. The concrete insulated panel façade, brick��veneer��and high-efficiency glazing contribute to a high-performing building envelope��optimized��for durability and thermal efficiency.��

“SCA’s requirements for energy-efficiency and environmental sustainability are among the most stringent of any school district in the country,” Aronov said. “Designed and built for all-electric operation,��eliminating��the need for increased fossil fuel use, the addition features a dedicated central heating and cooling system. Overall, the design ensures operations and energy costs are as low as possible.”��

The all-electric strategy positions the school to adapt to future decarbonization goals while providing consistent thermal comfort.��

Maximizing Space on Constrained Urban Sites��

Urban campuses in New York City offer little margin for horizontal expansion, placing a premium on circulation efficiency and program stacking.��

“In New York City, space is always at a premium,” Aronov said. “For school additions, which are generally between 50,000 and��60,000 square feet��in size, we consider the floor plans very carefully to ensure efficient circulation for foot traffic as well as safe and efficient operations overall.”��

The P.S. 87 project builds on RKTB’s prior work at P.S. 19 in the Bronx and informs ongoing efforts at P.S. 116 in Queens, where sustainability features such as rooftop solar panels and a vegetated green roof are planned.��

At P.S. 87, the combination of expanded capacity, enhanced accessibility and improved performance��demonstrates��how targeted additions can extend the life and relevance of legacy school buildings — without compromising daily operations or community identity.��

Project Info

• Architect:�� RKTB Architects��
• Client + CM: New York City School Construction Authority��
• GC: TECHNICO��
• MEP: Shenoy Engineering��
• SE: Thornton��Thomasetti��
• Civil: Leonard J Strandberg & Associates��
• Environmental: STV Inc.��

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CHICAGO—The Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School expansion by Wheeler Kearns Architects was presented with three Design Excellence Awards from AIA Chicago at its virtual ceremony on Friday November 13. The project received a Distinguished Building Award and two Divine Detail Awards, for the Tallit (exterior brick) and the Makom Rina (sacred space). The firm’s design expresses the building’s unique identity, celebrating its religious and cultural heritage, while providing an innovative and sustainable learning environment.

Located in the Lakeview neighborhood, the school and adjacent synagogue had shared the same facilities — including an entrance�� — since 1948. The project reorients the school towards a newly constructed plaza, loggia and vestibule, offering a new secure and welcoming entrance. Inside, there is a focus on visibility and connection, with transparent glass walls, open spaces, and plentiful daylight creating a welcoming and intuitive environment. The building also has a small footprint, with interventions such as an insulated cavity wall to minimize thermal shorting, a solar array producing power for the building, deep overhangs that shield the generous glazing at the ground floor, and the use of recycled, renewable, low VOC materials.

Jewish principles and ideas are incorporated into the design itself. For example, the light-colored brick wraps the exterior just as the tallit (prayer shawl) helps one to create a sacred space for reflection, learning, and prayer. The heart of the addition is a curved masonry and glass sacred space – the Makom Rina, or ‘Place of Joy’. Twelve exposed curved masonry walls represent the twelve original tribes of Israel, with the wythes of brick angled to create a pattern that evokes the star of David. Interior head joints are raked open so that participants can place prayers into the joints between the units, like in the ancient western wall of Jerusalem.

Bulley & Andrews served as the general contractor on the project, which was completed in 2019, and Thornton Tomasetti was the structural engineer.

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CHICAGO—Thornton Tomasetti, the international engineering firm, provided structural engineering services to architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) for the new Academic and Residential Complex at The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The fast-tracked project broke ground in January 2018 and its completion was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis and elected officials on July 18.

The project, designed by SCB, is a public private partnership between UIC and American Campus Communities (ACC), the largest owner, manager and developer of high-quality student housing communities in the U.S. It is the first public private partnership (P3) assignment for Thornton Tomasetti’s Chicago office.

As part of a master plan to address the university’s increasing enrollment, the new living-learning community features a 10-story, 146,000-square-foot residence hall with 548 beds in traditional dorm rooms and semi-suite-style units. A two-story, 54,000-square-foot academic center holds three large tiered lecture halls, active learning classrooms, several small group study rooms, a tutoring center and collaboration space. The living-learning community also includes shared spaces such as lounges, offices, laundry rooms, a fitness center and a 10th floor sky lounge, along with 1,600 square feet of retail space that will house a Starbucks to be operated by students. The building evokes the original campus design by architect Walter Netsch in its use of concrete panels and geometric shapes in the façade.

“Thornton Tomasetti’s expertise in working within tight timelines and budgetary constraints was key on this project,” said Thornton Tomasetti Vice President Todd Whisenhunt, S.E., P.E., who served as project manager. “We went from an April 2017 kick-off meeting to delivering construction designs and topping out the structure just over a year later, well ahead of schedule. From streamlined submittal reviews to structural quantities that remained unchanged throughout the process, the path to completion was a model of maximum efficiency and strategic collaboration.”

The residential tower’s structural system consists of concrete, two-way, post-tensioned flat slabs and reinforced concrete columns and shear walls, with staged stressed PT transfer beams. The classroom building features an oval floor plan with a steel braced-frame lateral system, long-span continuous plate girders with an 80-foot maximum span and a curved-steel feature stair spanning 45 feet. The structural systems of the two buildings are separated by an expansion joint. The complex is targeting LEED Gold certification.

“The project team spent a lot of time considering the needs of the university both from an academic and residential perspective,” said Joe Prochot, director of development management at ACC. “Though the overall design duration was compressed, this group of design professionals met the demanding expectations of the UIC/ACC partnership, contributing to successful construction efforts and project delivery.”

A project that moves at this pace requires timely design input from all members of the design team. To assist in this coordination, Thornton Tomasetti’s internal Issues Tracking log was used extensively during design to track essential cross-discipline items such as MEP openings, exterior wall considerations and column locations required to meet the early package deadlines.

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