About Avenues

About our Campus

• Made in 1928 of reinforced concrete, the building has remained in remarkably good condition and provided Avenues with a broad range of design possibilities.

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• Detail of main entrance on Tenth Avenue.

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• Proximity to the Chelsea Arts District provides an opportunity to involve, educate and stimulate students in the visual arts through the Avenues-Chelsea Arts Initiative.

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• The exterior characteristics of the building include large window bays that extend to the exposed ceiling and offer shadow-free natural light.

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• Avenues’ entrance for Lower, Middle and Upper School students, parents and visitors is located on Tenth Avenue.

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• View from the High Line near the school
  Photo by Flickr user korpics

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• The High Line at night
  Photo by Flickr user nycpaula01

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Avenues is investing $60 million for the design and construction to convert a Cass Gilbert-designed, landmark building in Chelsea into a state-of-the-art school facility. Internationally-known and experienced architects (Perkins Eastman), interior designers (Bonetti/Kozerski) and engineers (STV) have been brought on to lead this transformation.

When the campus opens for students in fall 2012, we expect it will be viewed as one of the finest school facilities in Manhattan. Here is a sample of things to look for:

1. A superb location/setting.

Few school facilities are unbounded on all four sides, allowing superior access and light. The Chelsea campus has 600 linear feet of street and park frontage, including a 200-foot “dining porch” overlooking the High Line.

2. Unusual Light.

There are more than 700 ten-foot-high windows in the building. Virtually all the classrooms have three of these as their centerpiece.

3. High Ceilings.

Public floors (on the first and third floors) have 15- to 18-foot high ceilings. Many floors have 20- to 25-foot “double height” spaces. Typical classroom floors have ceilings more than 11 feet high.

4. Simple, Stylish and Attentive to Detail.

This campus is characteristic of a well-designed Chelsea loft. Extraordinary attention has been given to all aspects of the floor plan, the elevations, furniture and equipment.

5. Spacious.

Economics do not allow center-city schools the space that is common in boarding schools or suburban schools, but Avenues’ Chelsea campus is spacious. The 215,000-square-foot campus encompasses ten floors, a full basement and a half-acre roof. It offers students 10-20 percent more space than is typical of other metropolitan independent school facilities.

6. Conducive to Independent Learning.

The Lower, Middle and Upper Schools feature well-appointed, open-area “studios” in which students can work on their own. Upper School juniors and seniors will be assigned their own work stations in special “studios.”

7. Dining in the Park.

The 20,000-square-foot dining floor overlooks one of the most heavily forested sections of the High Line. In good weather, several large doors will open onto the park, allowing students open-air dining.

8. Technologically Robust.

As technological devices are constantly changing, the most important aspect of school design in regard to technology is a robust infrastructure that includes strong and ubiquitous wireless connectivity, sufficient bandwidth and plenty of electrical capacity. In addition, good presentation and instructional technology will be a part of every classroom setting.

9. Green.

It is important to “walk the walk” on sustainability. Avenues is seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the Chelsea campus, which would make it one of only a few LEED-certified independent schools in the city. Key aspects of the sustainability plan are use of a pre-existing building and complete replacement of all windows to ensure efficient heating and cooling.

All in all, the Chelsea campus will be an outstanding place for students to live and learn.