Towering Setting for New Brooklyn K-5 School
By Eric Althoff
BROOKLYN, N.Y.—DIGroup Architecture (DIG) is celebrating the completion of its first New York City School project, located in the borough of Brooklyn. P.S. 748, the Albee Square Campus, was constructed in conjunction with Nehal Contracting of Nanuet, N.Y., as well as the New York City School Construction Authority.
The Albee Square Campus takes up six floors of a new 34-story office tower, known as 1WSQ, which was designed by FXCollaborative. DIG’s project mandate included placing the elementary school within the FXCollaborative-designed office tower. While the elementary school was in progress, the office space also served as the home of Design Works High School for the 2023-24 school year.
Sited at One Willoughby Square, the Albee Square Campus occupies 80,000 square feet of 1WSQ. The school includes a kitchen, cafeteria, assembly room, “gymatorium” and 14 total classrooms including for special education.
“This project is a true reflection of the work we are committed to at DIG, and we are privileged to be a part of SCA’s investment in New York City Schools,” Jeff Venezia, chief executive officer of DIG, said of the project. “The temporary use of the Albee Square Campus by Design Works High School also demonstrated the flexibility of the space as well as the adaptability and commitment of NYC SCA to remain nimble in accommodating student needs.”
In a subsequent statement emailed to School Construction News, DIG Director of Construction Brian Duddy noted that DIG worked closely with the SCA on the school’s program requirements while simultaneously coordinating with FXCollaborative, who designed the core and shell of the building.
“One of the unique challenges in designing the Albee Square Campus was that DIG’s design of the school was being done concurrently with another architect, who was designing the 37-story office building the school was going to occupy,” said Duddy. “As a tenant in the lower six floors of the building, the location of major building components such as elevators, exit stairs, the lobby and two-story-height gym were dictated by the base building. In addition, the ‘T-shaped’ site and floor plate required careful consideration of room layout and adjacencies.
“DIG’s ability to quickly respond to changes in the base building during both design and construction helped DIG meet those challenges head on and deliver to the SCA and the public-school students of New York City an important project thoughtfully designed and successfully implemented.”
DIG was formed in New Brunswick, N.J., in 2006, as a consortium of several smaller architectural houses, and is a certified Minority-Owned, Disadvantaged and Small Business Enterprise (MBE/DBE/SBE). The firm provides design and architecture in such fields as healthcare, senior living as well as education. Their school-related construction work accounts for over a half-billion dollars in project work to date.