THE OPPORTUNITY

Paul Robeson, 1919 Rutgers College Valedictorian, All-American football player, film actor, bass-baritone artist, and political activist. His accomplishments rival many and the city of New Brunswick honored his achievements by opening a community school in his name in 1982. This school is part of the New Brunswick school district however the curriculum for this K-8 uses art to enhance the education for its young students. Since the schools opening over 35 years ago, it has grown and in need of a renovation. PS&S was offered the opportunity to be the Architect and Engineer partnering with Hall Construction for a Design Build approach to renovate and expand the school.

THE CHALLENGE

The biggest challenges included the tight site constraints and connecting the second floor level between the existing floor elevation. The existing building required structural remediation which necessitated the team to strategically coordinate the placement of structures to not negatively impact instructional spaces.

THE PS&S SOLUTION

The renovation was completed in two years and included 68,000 SF of new classrooms, science rooms, and multi-purpose rooms. Renovations of 58,000 SF include gymnasium, kitchen, classrooms, media center, vocal music, art and support spaces including the placement of a generator. This project nearly doubled the size of the original school with a new total size of 126,000 SF. The school achieved LEED Gold.