WeWork continues to expand, now working with a pedagogy group named WeGrow, to develop their first NYC kindergarten, collaborating with danish architecture firm BIG – Bjarke Ingels Studios.
The project will be a public elementary school for 3-to-9 year-olds. This comes after WeWork dwelving into the field of health & fitness with their first gym opening in downtown Manhattan in early November. For the school’s design, BIG chose renderings consisting heavily of woodwork, with play and lounge areas with gray seats reminiscent of river stones.
BIG‘s architects commented on their prospects for the project – “Playful and transparent, yet homelike and structured, WeGrow will nurture the child’s education through introspection, exploration and discovery (…) BIG‘s design for WeGrow seeks to undo the compartmentalisation often found in traditional school environments and reinforces the significance of engaging kids in an interactive environment.”
WeWork, with offices and investments all over the globe, plans for WeGrow to excel in the versatile offer of education through culture and practical learning – “Curriculums will be created around meaningful local cultures and environments so that learning can be hands-on and experiential,” said Rebekah Neumann, founding partner and chief brand officer at WeWork. “We will focus as much on the growth of our children’s spirits as we will their minds”.
The main parameters for NY families when selecting a school revolve around price, reputation and location. While the prices for attending WeGrow are not yet known, it has been announced that scholarship programs will be made available.
“The design starts from the premise of a school universe at the level of the child: a field of super-elliptic objects forms a learning landscape that’s dense and rational – yet free and fluid,” said the BIG developers.
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