TriBeCa Community School Slideshow

In the entrance to the school, we have a Parents' Sitting Area with adult size seating. In this space significant exchanges and discoveries are mutually embraced by families, children, and teachers. Here we have children�s books and binders containing stories of the children in our care: leaving traces of the children�s play and exploration for the parents to appreciate. We also position a photo of each staff member, with a brief personal bio (this is attached to a lampshade, as this round shape allows us to convey the 'no hierarchy within staff' we practice).

In front of the entrance, in a wicker frame, adults wrote the word "welcome" in their native language. Right below it is a building area for the children to use while interacting between the age groups. We want the environment to act as a mirror of our values, and declare out loud, right from the entry, what we value most: children, parents, and teachers.

In every room, we position a "living-room" style reading area as close as possible to the entrance of the classroom. By doing so, we convey a message of "welcome home. relax" at the very entrance to the classroom. We add home-like items to create a softer atmosphere, one that resembles a place of residence.

Every 'reading area' has adult-size seating, pillows, book cases, and a rug. We choose to accent it with home-like warm lighting.

We stay away from theme-oriented rugs often found in school supply catalogs (i.e. rugs with shapes, abc's, ocean, animal drawings, etc). Instead, we shopped at home-supply stores for cheaper and significantly less visually contaminating area rugs.

Additional adult size seating is considered in various areas of the rooms, such as the bench by the building area. This type of accommodation is an open invitation for families and visitors to sit and embrace our classroom community.

When the space allows, we position a round table in the dramatic play area. From an environmental psychology, a round table encourages conversations and eye contact among those sitting around it in a more intimate manner than a rectangular table. On the walls, we will occasionally present children’s processes of thinking, playing, and learning.

Our atelier (art studio) is pivotal to our program, and therefore it is located in a central area at the school.

In the atelier, open shelves decked (beautifully) with a wealth of open-ended materials and possibilities invite the children to express their thinking in numerous ways.

Our bathroom received careful care in creating a calm atmosphere, and creating possibilities for children’s collaboration at the sinks.

We installed sinks that allow for 2-3 children to work together around the basin at the same time. In consciously choosing these sinks, we committed to children's interaction with water beyond the basic of hygiene, and into collaboration and relationship building.

Also in the bathroom, we chiseled out two ceramic tiles. There, we poured Epoxy polymer (Enviro-Tex), and we embedded in it items that are significant to our place, time, and program.