85_Yeshu Tan: Kindergarten

Yeshu Tan

Concept for Kindergarten Project

The central concept of this project is the “performance” of kindergarten. I explored new spatial conditions in the sloping site where kids can walk from the inside classroom to the roof by stairs in order to appreciate the beautiful sea and the skyline of Manhattan.“One of the most fundamental issues a society faces is how to best educate it’s children. In the typical learning environment, child development is considered to be structured and facilitated by parents, teachers and administrators. This project will serve to speculate as to the effect the physical environment can also have on the child’s development and how the architecture of schools can connect with children in a way that encourages and enhances their own independent process of self development and critical inquiry.

This project is to design a 10,500 sf kindergarten on the given site which is located at 53 St. Mark’s Place, directly east of St. Peter’s Church, in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island. The site is a steeply sloped 75’x157’ parcel with a change in grade of over 30’ along the long axis. Approximately 1 mile from the Staten Island ferry terminal, the site has clear views of New York harbor and Manhattan.

All designs are required to develop concepts that integrate the following distinct tectonic systems in a manner that clearly articulates the relationship between program, form and site.

•Organizational System: centralized, dispersed, stacked, •Spatial System: layered, field, striated, blended, •Circulation System: stairs, ramps, elevators, corridors •Structural System: wood columns, wood portal frame, wood bearing walls, wood truss, etc •Material System: panel, curtain wall, windows, skylights, material usage •Environmental System: sun control, ventilation, views”