The New School — a laboratory for music and learning

New York, NY
39,500 square feet
2015
Type: Academic / Arts / Adaptive Reuse
Theme: Making & Learning / Transforming Old Buildings

We developed a Master Plan for The New School’s Arnhold Hall to envision the 105,000-square-foot building as a home for The New School College of Performing Arts. The College brings together the School of Jazz, School of Drama and Mannes School of Music.

The first phase of our work was to relocate Mannes College from the Upper West Side to Arnhold Hall. We created an identity for Mannes, a conservatory within an urban campus, by discovering and giving prominence to significant volumes within the existing building. The project is distinguished by acoustic performance, and materials, colors, and graphics that give architectural presence.

As the second step in executing the Master Plan, we also designed strategic renovations to the first floor, most notably a glass-walled, highly-visible “process lab” where student experimentation gives expression to the building.

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Early on, Richard told us ‘it sounds like art school when you walk in and hear music.’ We took this idea, making the work visible, and made it a defining concept of the College of Performing Arts.

Maitland Jones, Senior Principal

Collaborators

TenBerke
Architect, Interior Designer

Robert Silman Associates
Structural Engineer

Akustiks
Acoustical Engineer

PHT Lighting
Lighting Consultant

Drawings

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