Classical Charter Schools, a network of charter schools located in the South Bronx, prides itself on its distinctive approach to educating students, whom they call scholars, through a “rigorous classical curriculum.” With focus on art, music, Latin, debate, fitness, and other disciplines proven to prepare students for current and lifelong success, the curriculum is structured such that each scholar gets a consistent and rigorous learning experience in every classroom. For their fourth school in the South Bronx, Classical Charter Schools sought a “classical school building” to support their highly structured setting and pedagogy.

Inspired by the client’s reverence for the classics, the design team analyzed six classical architectural prototypes—the Agora, Temple, Theater, Stoa, Monument, and Ruin—and incorporated each element into the design of South Bronx Classical School IV (SBC IV). The lobby takes the form of the Agora, a plaza surrounded by civic buildings that serves as a central gathering place, flanked by the gym and cafeteria. The cafeteria is seen as the Temple, a sacred space where the community comes together to break bread and honor their bodily needs. The Gym acts as the Theater, a civic space with tiered seating for watching an activity or presentation. These spaces are connected by glazing to create a transparent, unified environment.

On the exterior, a stone-wrapped colonnade frames the main entry and links interior and exterior spaces, evoking the Stoa, a portico which traditionally lines the perimeter of the Agora. Monument and Ruin are understood simultaneously—one cannot exist without the other. Monument is achieved through scale and massing; this four-story building replaces an overgrown empty lot with a structure erected as a symbol of excellence in the South Bronx. Through texture and materiality expressed in stone and wood, the ground floor imparts the weight and importance of a Ruin. The main mass of the building engages the streetscape, presenting an orderly, rhythmic façade. The modern grid of fiber cement panels offers variety in scale yet pays meticulous attention to symmetry—each classroom window is identical in size, highlighting the structure’s precision and reflecting the rigorous academic environment within.