The new 3,000 square foot Schiff House Daycare Center is intended to serve the children of the students and faculty of the City College of New York. Located in the former President’s House, the renovation of the 1912 neo-gothic stone building and its 1950’s addition encompassed the entire interior, a restoration and upgrade of the exterior, as well as a new playground in the rear yard.

With four classrooms the school is capable of accommodating 45 children between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Curved walls soften the interior environment for the small children, and playful fenestration opens up sightlines and brings unity to the space. These large interior openings allow natural light to penetrate deep into the spaces, and each is framed by stained Baltic Birch plywood to create a warm surround.

These window openings are deep enough and low enough to act as benches for the children throughout. At the new Entrance Hall cubbies for storage of student belonging are also constructed of Baltic Birch plywood also with the ends of the striated boards exposed. Thin white solid surfacing cubby interiors provide greater durability, and the benches allow the children a place for putting on and taking off coats and shoes.

An interior Maple bleacher was created as a focus for the classrooms and to provide a place for the entire school to gather. Intended to be used for story-time, the upper loft portion, which is surrounded by glass, also acts as a stage for the children to perform. This warm and playful stepped, central element is intersected by the remnant of the former chimney, which is painted bright red.

The interior stair was redesigned and enlarged to make it code compliant. Stained Maple pickets were used to provide the code-required guard rail enclosure while also forming a rounded and continuous volume that penetrates the first and second floors. The pickets were notched to accommodate a curved steel plate onto which handrails were attached. In addition, oak treads were used on steel risers so that all surfaces that are touched are of wood.

Four foot-deep stained Maple portals mark the transition in the Entrance Hall to the 1912 stone building from the stucco 1950’s addition. A small cutout, framed in Baltic Birch, above the cubbies reveals the original stone exterior.

Exterior openings were added and enlarged to bring in more natural light. Unique 12 over 1 insulated double-hung mahogany wood windows were inserted based on historic photos of the original 1912 design. A natural oiled finish was used on the windows at the exterior and interior. In addition, new custom Mahogany entrance doors with curved openings and an oiled finish were installed to match the windows.

The combination of all these wood constructions along with soft interior colors and a cork floor creates a warm, welcoming and playful environment for the children.

Awards and Publications:
2020 Architect’s Newspaper Best in Design – Interiors
2024 AIANY Chapter Interior Design Merit Award