BIG Designs First Elementary School for WeWork in NYC

WeWork, which is a rapidly-growing workspace company based in New York, announced recently that it has started working on a kindergarten project dubbed ‘WeGrow’, choosing BIG as the designing firm. WeGrow is a public school in New York that is designated for kids between 3-9 years of age.

This announcement comes after the latest of WeWork’s projects was inaugurated in Manhattan a couple of weeks ago. The project was the first gym ever made by the growing company.

Courtesy of OMA

The design presented by the Danish architectural firm, BIG, for WeWork’s first educational project proposed wooden activity spaces and gigantic piled-up grey pods for the children to climb.

“Playful and transparent, yet homelike and structured, WeGrow will nurture the child’s education through introspection, exploration, and discovery,” BIG commented.

“BIG’s design for WeGrow seeks to undo the compartmentalization often found in traditional school environments and reinforces the significance of engaging kids in an interactive environment.”

“Curriculums will be created around meaningful local cultures and environments so that learning can be hands-on and experiential,” explained the founding partner and chief brand officer at WeWork, Rebekah Neumann. “We will focus as much on the growth of our children’s spirits as we will their minds.”

Courtesy of OMA

BIG’s design for the school holds a futuristic potential, as it depends on its interaction with the surrounding environment.

“The design starts from the premise of a school universe at the level of the child: a field of super-elliptic objects forms a learning landscape that’s dense and rational – yet free and fluid,” BIG declared.

“Modular classrooms, tree houses, digital portals, and a vertical farm promote an inclusive and collaborative teaching environment,” the architectural firm explained. “Concurrently, acoustic clouds, natural materials, and neutral colors create a calm setting for the child’s focused study.”

Courtesy of OMA

The first branch of the school will open next fall in Chelsea and will be receiving admissions from the WeWork team, staff, and also the public. Although the school fees of WeGrow are not known yet, the educational facility will be offering the kids several scholarships.

The company’s pioneering approach includes several new health and educational projects in addition to its current line of work. WeWork designs and creates tangible and virtual communities in which entrepreneurs share space, office facilities, and have the opportunity to collaborate with each other. Coming as an expansion to the company’s business, WeGrow is meant to develop into a new cultural and educational experience offered to the people of New York City.

The company recently came to possess Flatiron School, which is a programming educational facility in New York. WeWork also purchased the Lord and Taylor department store building on Fifth Avenue.