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LREI Featured in Contract Magazine

LREI
Building expansion recognized for design
LREI’s renovated high school building at 40 Charlton Street, completed in February 2014, was recognized this month on the cover of design magazine Contract for excellence in urban and educational design and architecture.

The Contract article takes us back about 10 years, when LREI faced the unique challenge of accommodating a growing student body in the school’s landlocked building, which resides in a landmark district. After LREI acquired a historic neighboring townhouse in 2007, New York architect Andrew Bartle and his firm ABA Studio proceeded to design, reimagine and transform the buildings in five phases over multiple years. In all, 22,000 square feet of space was added to LREI, more than doubling the size of the original high school building.

The expansion added two science labs, math rooms, a variety of arts rooms, seminar rooms, an alumni and conference room, a student lounge, and an enlarged and renovated theater. LREI was able to enroll over 100 more students in its high school, expanding its full student body to 650 students, grades preK-12. Read more about the LREI expansion here.

Due to space restrictions, design innovations and creative touches were essential for reimagining LREI’s interior, the Contract story notes. The once inward-facing school gained breathing space, a light-filled courtyard and an outwardly connection with the city. “Classrooms on the fifth floor bring the city into the rooms, inspiring our students and giving them a sense of their place in the world,” LREI Director Phil Kassen shares in the article.

Additionally, Bartle notes in the article that he thoughtfully considered the subtle nuances of high school life—including a lounge (cover of this issue)—for urban students who are actively preparing for college. “The focus on community space, light, and fresh air was part of the collective progressive vision of building a school that shared spatial qualities with that of a college,” Bartle says. “Considerable thought went into individual privacy, and observation, and the individual’s experience in a community.”

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