Founded in 1887 and located on a historic campus, Horace Mann is an independent college preparatory school in the Bronx. As a long-time consultant to the Horace Mann School, EDG provides ongoing planning, architectural design, and structural engineering services. In need of space to accommodate additional parking and athletics programs, EDG was selected to help plan and design a new mixed-use facility at the edge of Broadway overlooking Van Cortlandt Park. We completed zoning, site conditions analysis and selection, current and future needs analysis, layout options, and building design.
Finding the maximum buildable area to optimize the budget, EDG proposed a mixed-use 69,000 sf concrete parking structure with five top-level tennis courts, spectator seating, and a pedestrian sky bridge linked to the heart of campus. Situated on a steep slope overlooking the park, the new three-level deck offers more than 200 parking spots for families, faculty, and staff. With sensitivity to the historic campus aesthetic, the facade features stone and brick configured to match the contextual scale and Collegiate Gothic identity of Horace Mann.
Working with the facilities director and campus team, EDG created a building on a plot of land previously deemed unusable. The boys and girls tennis teams are integral to Horace Mann’s athletics, community, and history, yet the school struggled for years to find enough space to house the new courts. At the same time, new parking on campus was critical to alleviate street traffic and congestion. EDG’s design offers connections to campus, brand new tennis courts, and reduced vehicular traffic through residential areas – providing a practical solution that addresses multiple needs of the school.