Linden Middle School is a new civic beacon to the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. This 42,000 SF school is located in East New York on the SE corner of Cleveland Street and Pitkin Avenue. It is a 4-story building with a cellar, housing a range of program including a gymnatorium, cafeteria, warming kitchen, administration spaces and classrooms. The massing of the building is an L-shape, which maximizes both the efficiency of the circulation spaces and the locations for windows along the façade. There are two entries into the school, one on each street, with the main entry along Pitkin Ave.

The building’s materiality takes into consideration the context in which it is situated, a mixture of red brick and cream buildings. The upper classroom mass is comprised of a light colored rainscreen with detailed apertures which help mitigate some solar conditions. This upper block is detailed using textures and seaming patterns to create an elegant yet playful façade. This classroom mass sits on a red brick base which wraps up to the stair volumes to anchor both sides of the L. Simple brick detailing breaks down the scale of the building as the window proportions and typologies give the sense of a timeless, civic building.

The interior design prioritizes color and light to draw people along the corridors and create a positive learning environment. The bright and welcoming lobby connects the school and draws attention to a central circulation space. The cellar level gymnatorium connects visually to the lobby and cafeteria above, connecting the most important gathering spaces in the school. The cafeteria and kitchen are bright with daylight, with simple circulation paths from both entries to the school which allows students to gather together multiple times a day. Light filled stairwells are a bastion of activity throughout the day, specifically during class changes. The mission of this public charter school is to create a love of learning through enriching educational opportunities designed to set students up for success later in life.

Design: Marvel
Marvel Design Team: Jonathan Marvel, Lissa So, Raquel Marrero, Debbie Balters, Vernette Velez, Nicole Barbosa, Hilyarit Santiago, Diego Varas
Photography: Joshua Simpson