Bronxville School Celebrates New Atrium, Building Enhancements

The Bronxville School celebrated its new atrium with a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 7. Joined by an audience of local officials, LAN Associates architects and community members, administrators marked the opening of the additions and renovations to the district’s century-old facility.  

The improvements, which began with a bond referendum approved by voters in 2018, are the result of the district’s efforts to revitalize and modernize the school building. The project’s goal was to provide new high-tech collaborative learning environments, restore the building envelope and construct three additions to expand the undersized cafeteria, entrance lobby and guidance suite.  

“We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the capital projects that not only captures our need to renovate our learning spaces to match our instruction, but also preserves and adds to the character of our 100-year-old building,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Roy Montesano said. 

The district worked with LAN architects to transform a school boiler room into a state-of-the-art Innovation Center that focuses on STEM projects. The new instruction space is furnished with prototyping equipment, including 3D printers and a computer numerical control machine that controls the laser engraver. It also incorporates high-tech interactive display panels and computer stations for design and computer aided drafting. In addition, the flexible learning space features large tables and movable furniture to accommodate diverse instructional initiatives. 

The third-floor Learning Commons was designed to create open common areas flanked by think pods, provided with interactive touch displays to foster student interaction and collaboration. Meanwhile, the lab spaces next to the Learning Commons enable students to engage in project-based learning experiences.  

The cafeteria addition doubles the school’s dining capacity and renovations to the existing space create an area that offers grab-and-go lunch options to improve the serving efficiency. Enhancements to the guidance suite provide students with space to research postgraduate options and meet with college recruiters. The capital project also included a new artificial turf football field, resurfacing of the track and the replacement of the elementary school playground.

LAN Assistant Vice President Matthew Milnamow, the architect in charge of the project, said the district was passionate about providing a design solution that complemented the historic character of the building and delivering a solution to the community that honored the Bronxville Promise. 

“The architects from LAN listened to our needs and priorities and developed a solution that is in line with our instructional vision and future classrooms needs,” Dr. Montesano said. “We are excited to share the final projects with our community.”