The rockefeller university

by ZACH VEILLEUX

The Rockefeller University Child and Family Center, long one of the university’s most coveted perks for parents and a model for work-site child care facilities nationwide, will expand by 40 percent this year, with five new classrooms to be constructed on the second floor of the Graduate Students Residence. The expansion, which will double the number of highly desirable infant spots available in the program as well as add new seats for toddlers and preschoolers, is the first increase in the CFC’s size since 2001 and will help shorten a lengthy admissions waitlist that some families remain on for two years or more.

“We have long had a strong commitment to providing quality child care for our community, but in recent years the demand on the program has exceeded our current resources,” says Virginia Huffman, vice president of Human Resources. “This expansion, which includes new classrooms and an increased operating budget, will dramatically reduce the waitlist without compromising quality, allowing more members of the community to utilize the facility.”

What is now known as the CFC originally began in the early 1980s as a part-time co-op run by parents, with the university merely providing space. As it grew, parents hired professional teachers and a director, and the university began to play a larger role in its management. In 1994 it became a full-time year-round program run and supported by the university, and it expanded from four to seven rooms. It expanded again in 2001 when an infant room and two toddler rooms were added to the first floor of GSR, displacing the campus gym to Founder’s Hall and doubling the number of spaces available for infants and toddlers.

The classrooms now being built will occupy the northernmost half of the second floor of GSR, where student apartments and a laundry room are currently located. The five classrooms are designed with flexibility in mind, so they can be reconfigured to accommodate children of different ages in response to shifting demographics. The two infant classrooms will feature adjoining nap rooms, reducing the burden on staff (a teacher-caregiver must be present whenever infants are asleep), and will have loft areas for play and dedicated kitchen and diapering facilities. The three remaining rooms are connected to one another and feature flexible floorplans that allow them to accommodate varying ratios of toddlers and preschoolers.

The renovated space also includes a multipurpose activity space, a director’s office and receptionist’s desk, a small conference room, teacher’s lounge, pantry and stroller parking. For security purposes it is separated from the residential section of the build-ing by access-controlled doors. Entry will be from the existing east-facing door, which will be upgraded with an ADA-compliant, stroller-friendly ramp.

The new plans were created by Brezavar and Brezavar Architects, a firm that specializes in school interiors. In addition to previous work in the CFC and designing playrooms in Faculty House and Sutton Terrace, Brezavar and Brezavar has worked at All Souls School and The Studio School.

Faced with the challenge of fitting modern and flexible classrooms into an existing building originally designed as a dormitory, Brezavar and Brezavar worked to create open spaces with variations in levels to help kids develop motor skills and to encourage different kinds of play. They replicated some of the same designs and features used in the existing GSR classrooms, in order to create a cohesive feel throughout the center, despite the separate spaces.

Kids in the hall. A floor plan of the CFC’s new space shows the location of five new classrooms and adjacent support areas on the second floor of the Graduate Student Residence. Renovation work, underway now, will be completed in December.

They also built visual connections between the rooms, using doors and glass panels in the walls. “All five new classrooms are linked in this way allowing flexibility for the teachers and giving children the opportunity to observe older and younger peers,” says Sarah Brezavar, the architect, who worked closely with the CFC’s teachers and directors to develop the design. “For children, it is reassuring to be able to look back at your former room — this consistency helps them manage the rapid changes in their bodies and abilities.”

Although the work on the second floor of GSR will be finished by December, the timetable for construction anticipates that the newly expanded CFC will open in two phases, operating at full capacity for the first time in September 2016. In order to also accommodate needed renovations to the three classrooms in Sophie Fricke Hall, the teachers and children currently in that space will be the first to occupy the new rooms, along with two new classes. Once that work is complete, the Sophie Fricke space will reopen with an additional three rooms for infants and toddlers.

Light demolition work in GSR began in December, after students living in the affected apartments were relocated. In February, children and teachers from the three rooms located directly below the work site will be temporarily moved to swing space in other buildings, so that more extensive work can proceed. The renovation is being conducted by Plant Operations personnel and contractors.

Because the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which oversees childcare facilities, only allows swing space to be occupied by children for a maximum of three months, the bulk of the demolition and heavy construction work will take place in the winter and early spring. Lighter finishing work will occur throughout the summer and into the fall. To ensure the existing classrooms remain safe, barriers will be erected to prevent dust from circulating, and air monitoring equipment will be installed in several locations.

“Our goal with this work is to minimize the disruption to the teachers and children as well as the building’s residential occupants, while still maintaining an aggressive timetable in order to have the new space ready for occupancy by the end of the calendar year,” says Alex Kogan, associate vice president of Plant Operations. “We are coordinating closely with the CFC administrators and teachers to ensure that the project progresses as smoothly as possible.”

“Although some disruption is inevitable, we are doing our best to minimize the impact on the children and teachers, and we are keeping our eyes on the end result — five beautiful new classrooms,” says Karen Booth, director of the CFC. “We are going to have more space, more teachers and more kids, but nothing will change the center’s culture and philosophy. Our high standards will remain the same as they have always been.”