Parkside Community Complex
Located in the vibrant intersection of Kensington and Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, just a block from the Southern edge of Prospect Park, a new school complex takes shape. Crafted by master school designer Michael Fieldman, the building houses four distinct schools: pre-K, elementary, middle and special needs.
The school's courtyard, perhaps its most striking planning feature, began with a decision to extend the existing street grid through the school's massing. The width of East 8th Street, which terminates directly in the middle of the site, projects deep into the structure, creating two programmatic wings. As students enter the complex, classrooms are to the left; gymnasium, auditorium, library are to the right. Administrative and support spaces, as well as vertical circulation, connect the two halves. The courtyard gives families a protected space to gather during the myriad drop-offs, pick-ups and other events.
A fresh and vibrant palette of materials articulate the functional areas of the complex. The orange terracotta rain screen clads the auditorium; glass curtainwall defines administrative spaces; glass block brings light into the vertical circulation. Classrooms are defined by their bright yellow vertical fin systems that are a playful nod to the windows filled with student art projects.
Photographed Summer 2016.
Architect: Michael Fieldman Architects
Associate Architect: Rawlings Architects
Builder: NYC School Construction Authority
I love the built environment. My photographic practice is anchored by my fascination with design, urbanity and the tactile experience of our surroundings. I believe that our built environment is in tension between intentionality and circumstance, the whole made more powerful by the nature of its duality. My passion is creating photographic representations at the intersection of design, implementation, and context.
I believe in telling stories. Great photography creates narrative strings that enhance our understanding of the built environment. I use my experience to highlight, finesse, contextualize the ideas embedded in each project. My goal is to explore implementations of great design, distilling and connecting photographic vignettes that offer insight into the ideas that shape our world.
I began my career as an architectural designer and refined my focus to the representation of architecture. My interest is in built work - the physical manifestation of design. Through scouting, planning, photographing and all the steps that come after, I refine the representation of each project to best reflect the goals of my clients.
I hold a Bachelor of the Arts in Architecture from Columbia University and a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the School of Visual Arts. I am based in Manhattan and available for assignments worldwide.
You can reach me at info@alexanderseverin.com