Manhattan, NY

The Graham School for intensive learning, located in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York called for an imaginative yet contextual addition and expansion of the existing campus. The master plan brings the heritage of its founding by the free thinkers Mrs. Alexander Hamilton and Mrs. Graham, and its history of progressive ideas, such as child self-governance, co-education and communal life into the 21st century. The plan reactivates the existing buildings and the campus with new programming, including a social club, radio station, gardening, fitness loops and self-guided paths for exploration. New buildings for new needs include accessible dormitories, a media and technology center, a theater arts barn and a pool.

The master plan considers the campus as a productive landscape with the potential for geothermal, solar and wind to fill the school’s energy demands. The power captured by Hudson River School Painters in their depictions of the site can be harnessed for the 21st century.

Client: Graham Windham

Project Team:

Gans and Company: Deborah Gans, Jocelyn Elliot, Gianluca Mezzanotte

Landscape: Denise Hoffman