HARLEM CHILDREN’S ZONE, HARLEM NEW YORK

American educator and activist, Geoffrey Canada is the powerful name responsible for education reform for the underprivileged youth in Central Harlem, New York. He became the brainchild behind Harlem Children’s Zone, a non-profit education organization that has become a successful national program model. His vision was to build a K-12 academy in the middle of a public housing project in Harlem. An unprecedented goal that many thought was impossible became a reality with the help and support of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, John Rhea, Chairman of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), Goldman Sachs, Google and a host of other prominent supporters.

Promise Academy I:

Located in the middle of St. Nicholas Houses, a NYCHA property located in central Harlem New York, stands Harlem Children Zone’s new beacon of hope for quality education . A five story 135,000 square foot building clad in aluminum unitized panels above and a rhythmic texture brick pattern below that surrounds the building.

In regards to the exterior, the idea was to introduce a building facade with materials and colors that stand out from the existing dull red brick context in order to express a sense of boldness and excitement. The interiors are full of natural light with every floor expressing individual colors of the organizations logo.

Architect of Record: John Ciardullo Associates

Project Architect: Don Odukogbe