Collegiate School

On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the Collegiate School serves approximately 650 students and employs over 100 faculty members. Previously, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools span locations were on West 77th and West 78th Streets with a reception area allowing for access between both facilities via 78th Street. Over time, the landmark schoolhouse had acquired buildings and expanded in order to accommodate its growing population and programs. The school also had shared space with the adjacent West End Collegiate Church.

Early in 2013, the school announced plans to build a new facility between West 61st and 62nd Streets between West End Avenue and Riverside Boulevard. Consisting of nearly 30% more indoor space and 613% more outdoor space, a new building would offer the greatest potential for space and flexibility.

Kohler Ronan provided MEP/FP designs and energy modeling services for this exciting 179,000 square-foot school project. The high rise consists of nine floors above and two floors below grade. The nine floors of program space allows the K-12 students to be housed under one roof. Substantial energy modeling was conducted and subsequent sustainable features are included throughout the building. Among them are the following: high-performance envelope, daylight-responsive lighting, thermal ice storage, demand control ventilation, dedicated outdoor air units, and chilled beams. Collegiate is LEED Silver certified and demonstrated energy savings of 25% compared to ASHRAE baseline.

Photo credit: Courtesy of STUDIOS Architecture,
© Ines Leong