George Ranalli Architect GRA

Chelsea Day School is a premier nursery/ kindergarten school in lower Manhattan. Established more than 30-years go in a Chelsea row-house enrollment steadily grew. After a period of time in a nearby Loft space, real estate factors compelled yet another move. George Ranalli Architect helped to identify space in a 5-story commercial building and performed a gut renovation to transform 12,000-sq.-ft. on two floors into a special school. The school’s layout features a spacious main entrance, 10 classrooms – each with its own kitchenette -a large multi-use space, staff offices, a teacher break room, bathrooms for adults and children, an atelier-style ceramic studio, and plenty of storage, as well as a new dedicated street entrance, elevator, and rooftop garden and yard. The large flexible space served as the school auditorium, library, and gym. A broad interior staircase adjoins previously separate upper and lower levels and does double duty as stadium-style seating. On each floor, hallways are outfitted with cozy intermediate spaces and views. Carefully placed transparencies balance density and openness. Storage is neatly tucked away to help guard against urban clutter. Chelsea Day School‘s glass elevator cab offers cascading views of a colorful mural by artist Kenji Hirata.