A few years ago, administrators at The Rodeph Sholom School (RSS), an independent nursery through eighth grade school founded in 1958, were expecting a large second grade class for the fall of 2009. RSS quickly realized that they needed more classroom space, and fast! In addition, the school had a gymnasium that was only half the size desirable. At that time, the campus was located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and consisted of four landmarked brownstones built in 1910 that had been previously converted into a school. Comprised of several staircases and narrow passages, the existing spaces were cramped and labyrinthine in layout, and RSS desired more usable space for hands-on activities such as reading, teaching, and physical education. In 2008, the school had the opportunity to acquire a fifth brownstone adjacent to the existing school, measuring approximately 19 feet wide by 60 feet long. The design team went to work immediately to convert this residential building into the spaces the school so badly needed and expanded their campus to include more classroom space, an expanded gymnasium, and a new library.