Students and Teachers to Complete “Learning Landscape” Prototype at Bronx Public School

Mock-Up Tests Breakthrough Green Roof System Designed and Provided to the City by Consortium Led by Rafael Viñoly Architects PC.

On Tuesday, June 10 at 2 p.m., students and teachers at the Adlai Stevenson Campus at 1980 Lafayette Avenue in the Bronx will complete a 16′x16′ prototype of a rooftop “learning landscape” planned for their building with materials provided by Pittsburgh Corning and Tremco. The prototype is the forerunner of a 20,000-square-foot project that will transform the concrete surface of the school’s roof into a living laboratory for hands-on study.

Fundraising for the full-sized landscape is being led by the Stevenson Green Roof Consortium, a group including public and private entities, and is currently reaching its final stages. Key contributors include Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. and Councilmember Annabel Palma. When completed, the landscape will be one of the largest monitored green roofs ever realized in the city and among its most innovative, featuring a structural system designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects’ first annual Research Fellow, Joe Hagerman (2005).

Located in an area in which enrollment and graduation rates are a constant challenge, the Stevenson Learning Landscape is designed as a suite of interactive classrooms for teaching and outdoor experiments in math and science. The curricula, developed by the Salvadori Center and New Visions for Public Schools with the participation of Stevenson Campus teachers, will be supported by the Federation of American Scientists.In addition to the usual green roof benefits-reduction in summer air-conditioning costs and the cooling of ambient air-the project will also bring new life to an aging building, serving as a model for environmentally-conscious enhancement that also provides a visual amenity for hundreds of surrounding residents. Knowledge gained from the project will directly benefit New York City school construction, and new building technologies developed for it will simplify installation, maintenance, and long-term roof performance, reducing operating costs and environmental/energy stewardship throughout the Department of Education’s inventory of aging buildings.

As project architect, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC will provide continuing pro bono services for the venture, including architectural design, engineering analysis, research, project management, construction supervision, and marketing support for the actual roof’s construction. The capital goal for the project is $1.2 million. Approximately $800,000 in cash, plus pro bono goods and services, has been raised to date. Fundraising is expected to continue through summer 2009.

Read more about the project: www:salvadori.org/greenroof

Publicado por: Alberto Gorbatt