Stuyvesant High School (New York City, New York)

 school, secondary education

Stuyvesant High School specializes in mathematics and science. It is one of the most competitive public high schools in the United States, sending more students to some of the nation's most prestigious universities than most other public or private schools. The school opened in 1904 at 15th Street on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new 10-story building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic programs, having produced many notable alumni including four Nobel laureates. U.S. News & World Report ranked it twenty-third in their 2008 list of America's best "Gold-Medal" high schools.

The new postmodern building was designed by Cooper, Robertson & Partners. The southern frontage is formal and symmetrical, while the northern waterfront facade suggests three almost separate buildings: one for computer and science labs; another for athletics, including two gymnasiums, locker rooms, and a swimming pool; and a third, central wing containing a 900-seat theater and cafeteria.

The main, south-facing facade is symmetrical, with a 2-story white stone base above a grey rough-faced stone watertable, and orange brick on the upper floors. The entrance is recessed in a 2-story arc behind four large granite columns supporting a dark-green entablature with silver letters spelling out the school's name. The recessed arc is faced in smooth grey granite, with silver metal doors flanked by four wall sconces on each side, and a ribbon of windows above. Double wall sconces are also mounted on the base on either side of the entrance.

The upper-floor windows are mostly divided into pairs, with brick lintels linking the pairs into further groups of two. Each pair has a vertical accent band of darker brick on one side; there are also two vertical strips of dark brick running up the facade that serve to visually separate some of the bays. One bay further to the outside, the window pairs are not linked by a brick lintel, but instead separated by a smooth, rounded quarter-column of grey stone. The far outer wings of this facade are shorter, rising to eight floors. In the center, above the entrance, four bays of single windows give way to a 2-story recessed area at the 6th-7th floors, with a slightly-projecting concrete balcony and four smooth columns. Above, there is a cutaway above the 8th floor, with a broad silver metal-clad arc sweeping back above the roof line.

The east elevation angles back, following the path of West Street, A 6-story cylindrical structure links the main tower to the adjoining sections at the north side of the site, all of which are also clad in orange brick. At the northeast corner, the 7-story section has translucent glass blocks in place of windows on the east elevation; the north facade is windowless, with a grid of darker brick for visual interest. This section has a metal barrel-vaulted roof. The the west is the theater building; the auditorium is screened by a false facade capped with a classical pediment featuring a cutout circle in the center. The windows are covered with ornamental metal grilles. The 5-story building section west of the theater is capped by a metal and glass cornice, with a triangular glass protrusion putting up at an angle from the roof.

www.stuy.edu/