Corona 3K Center

Frank Oudeman

• Arquitectos

Circular’s NYC Corona 3K Public Preschool Sets New Bar for Design, Sustainability and Turnover Speed.

Passive House principles guide the adaptive reuse of an existing commercial building to rapidly deliver high performance results to an under-served community.

Circular’s award-winning Corona 3K Center exemplifies equitable sustainability through its architectural design and construction methodology, delivering a multitude of benefits to occupants, the community, and the environment.

photo_credit Frank Oudeman — Frank Oudeman

Working under the New York City School Construction Authority’s fast-track 3K Capacity Program, Circular created a new preschool for the community by taking over a partially constructed commercial building and quickly revising the design to incorporate high performance infrastructure, facades, and nurturing learning spaces.

Through a commitment to high performance sustainability rooted in Passive House principles, the adaptive reuse project significantly reduces energy consumption and embodied carbon, thereby lessening its environmental impact, lowering operational costs and quickly providing badly needed pre-school seats to a rapidly growing neighborhood.

Program & Site

Seven classrooms on two floors are supported by a medical room, general office, staff room, and parent’s lounge. The upper floor is home to a bright and cheerful padded playroom, while the cellar contains the school’s kitchen, technical, and utility spaces.

Corona 3K is located in Corona, Queens, one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the city with more than 30% of its residents under 18 years old. As an under-served area with a large population of newly arrived families, quality public childcare is in high demand.

The Roosevelt Avenue corner site is on a busy commercial corridor fronted by an elevated subway train and heavy vehicular traffic. The design and engineering prioritized creating excellent indoor air quality, ensuring that occupants are shielded from outdoor pollutants, while also providing mitigation of outside noise.

Approach

In order to reduce waste and meet an aggressive time schedule, the adaptive reuse of the partially completed building preserved the vast majority of the structure and infill materials already in place.

Circular reworked the design for the under-construction spec building to develop an updated exterior, core and interior layouts to meet stringent school standards and enhanced energy performance targets.

As described by Circular’s Principal Jordan Parnass, “The firm embraces a cradle-to-cradle systems-based approach to all aspects of design that leverages lifecycle, societal benefit and environmental regeneration as forces for positive change.”