Gym Under Ground

Faced with the need for a new gymnasium, Grace Church School, decided to build underground, adjacent to James Renwick’s 165 year old landmark gothic revival church. The design strategy involved the replication of the historic “Gothic Wall” fifteen feet to the west providing space for a new lobby with grand stairs and elevator and natural light via a series of large exterior and interior windows. The existing church portico, outdoor pulpit, street trees, garden and playground all sit on the new underground roof structure. The surgical construction required careful underpinning of the adjoining church and loft building and extension under the public sidewalk within 20 feet of the Broadway subway tunnel.