A team comprising SCAPE, Architecture Research Office (ARO), and Colloqate has unveiled a vision for a high school campus in Brooklyn with anti-racism, climate action, sustainable food systems, environmental justice, and experimental learning at the heart of its curriculum. The Launch School at Floyd Bennet Field will be constructed on a former airfield along the shores of Jamaica Bay, and will see a series of connective outdoor hallways knitting together buildings and landscapes.
The design of the 7-acre campus embodies a ‘learning by doing’ approach featuring a refurbished and modernized central building, an urban farm and outdoor classroom, and a harvest and sensory garden. The campus will also hold a greenhouse with hydroponics, a central community hall, and spaces for outdoor art, teaching, performance, and exploration.
“Launch at Floyd Bennett Field is an unprecedented opportunity to build a world-class educational ecosystem for communities that have historically been denied access to such resources,” said Geoffrey Roehm, Executive Director of The Launch School. “Alongside SCAPE and our partner organizations, we look forward to providing learning experiences that prepare students and community members for green jobs and empower them to build a better world.”
Currently, the Launch School’s only campus is located in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, which itself recently announced plans to revitalize its campus through a scheme designed by David Adjaye. When completed, the new campus at Jamaica Bay is expected to support an additional 1,200 students.
News of the project comes weeks after SCAPE founder Kate Orff was named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Influential People. The landscape firm has also recently collaborated with Studio Gang on the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. Meanwhile, ARO was among the firms honored at the 2022 American Architecture Awards which recognized 150 of the best buildings by American architects.
Earlier this year, Colloqate participated in a new exhibition at Art Omi celebrating the power of advocacy, while Colloqate founder Bryan C. Lee Jr. was named among the 2023 United States Artists’ Architecture & Design Fellows.
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