Friends Seminary Tour
June 20, 2023
6:00 – 7:30 PM Eastern
Location: 222 East 16th Street, New York, NY 10003
Enter at 218 E. 16th Street entrance (Orange Townhouses), and provide ID for security check-in.
Tour Guides:
Michael A. Nieminen, FAIA, Principal, Kliment Halsband Architects, A Perkins Eastman Studio
Nicholas Wan, AIA, Senior Associate, Kliment Halsband Architects, A Perkins Eastman Studio
The Friends Seminary project tour provides visitors with a glimpse into an intricate campus redevelopment in the heart of the Stuyvesant Square historic district. The tour will focus on the renovation and addition to a 1964 classroom building "Hunter Hall", and an adaptive reuse of three connected townhouses constructed in 1852, transforming the townhouses into a new building behind the historic landmarked façade with floors aligned with Hunter Hall for a continuous, expanded and flexible floor plan for Middle & Upper School students.
The tour will guide visitors through the restoration of the historic townhouse façades in coordination with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, engineering feats in reconstructing the townhouse structure and interiors, and showcase key design features which addressed prior campus shortfalls in terms of interior and exterior collaborative student spaces, improved classroom and assembly spaces, and full accessibility.
The project includes a new accessible entrance and lobby, a multipurpose Great Room for approximately 300 people opening directly onto the central courtyard, Music suite, Dance and Yoga suite, an Upper School Commons opening onto a rooftop terrace above the Great Room, additional classrooms and offices, study and locker spaces, a rooftop greenhouse and play space, important connections to nature and landscape in a dense urban environment.
Furthermore, the tour will highlight the project's sustainability achievements as New York City's first CHPS verified school. Key objectives included water usage reduction, rainwater reuse, green energy sourcing, construction waste management, and optimal indoor environmental light and air quality.
Learning Objectives:
- Obtain a greater understanding of various design factors (existing construction and historic district), processes (planning and constructability), and innovations in technology and sustainability for a school within New York City's urban context.
- Gain an understanding of the school's impact and connection within its Stuyvesant Square Historic District community.
Sustainable Strategies / Solutions:
Reuse of existing building fabric, water use reduction, rainwater reuse, green energy sourcing, construction waste management, optimal environmental light and air quality.
Innovative Strategies / Solutions:
The project utilizes water-efficient faucets and fixtures, rainwater harvesting, green power sources off-site, minimized and diverted construction waste from landfills, optimizes daylighting, and passive air and lighting controls.
Safety & Security Strategies / Solutions:
Card key access, supervised site and building entrances, ballistic-resistant glass at the townhouse ground floor façade within door and window replacements.
How Does the School Fit into the Community:
The school fits within the community as a true community facility. When Friends Seminary school use is not in operation, the facilities have hosted other educational programs, community activities, and a shelter for the homeless.
Project Team:
Architect of Record: Kliment Halsband Architects
Landscape Architect & Civil Engineer: Todd Rader + Amy Crews Architecture, Landscape Architecture
Structural Engineer: Silman
Electrical Engineer: Altieri Sebor Wieber
Contractor: Tishman Construction (AECOM)
Owner: Friends Seminary
Members: Free | Non-members: $20
Event Sponsor: $250