The 5 Fingers School
Robbins Elementary School
Trenton, NJ, USA
2010
CLIENT
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
TYPOLOGY
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SIZE MQ / FT2
1400 - 15,100
STATUS
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION 3rd PRIZE
SHARE
The project articulates itself around the existing historic school building, as it extends towards a new green space positioned on the south edge of the proposed site.
This space is seen as an outdoor resource for the school as well a potential fragment within a system of small parks in the neighborhood.
The presence of this “operable” open space strengthens the role of the Robbins Elementary School as a primary hub for the local community.
Our proposal envisions an “open-campus” composed by a system of 5 “finger-like” and 3 discreet buildings which extend to the proposed “Garden”.
This relationship (fingers + garden/public space) means to encourage the pedestrian dimension (peripatetic) of the place both as a learning tool and as an asset for the community.