fay school

The Root Science & Mathematics building culminates a ten-year campus renewal at the oldest junior boarding school in the country. Two separate additions unify several dispersed academic elements into a single facility on a small site, fusing the school's long tradition with its 21-st century educational mission. Careful attention to contextual integration and the preservation of surrounding open space establishes a harmony between the school, users, and environment.

The orthogonal Cartesian addition encloses a landscaped courtyard to eliminate dead-end hallways and complete the interior circulation loop. Sidelight glazing and interior glass transoms visually connect the math and science classrooms and channel natural light into the corridors. Sunscreens and a light shelf regulate glare and heat, while double-glazed glass panels reduce noise transmission. Built into the site's natural slope, the flowing organic curves of the second addition form a single-story transition from the upper academic quad to the lower playing fields. The interior features a technologically-advanced Learning Center and adjacent meeting facilities to enable dual multipurpose seminar/convention use.

The revitalized whole is scaled to the campus, conserves valuable open space, and blends subtly into its surroundings to provide Fay with expanded program space and a state-of-the-art learning environment.

“I believe that I can say without reservation that Michael Rosenfeld would be the man for the job no matter what the needs of a school might be.” --Stephen C. White, Headmaster