Architecture Program combines hands-on learning and technology
A walk through the past, present and future
John Jay High School’s Architecture students stepped onto the red Roosevelt Island tram in Manhattan. They were on their way to tour the modernist tribute to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the other side of the East River as well as view the Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech—a building at the intersection of technology, art and sustainability.
While it was the first time for nearly all of the students to ride on the tram, it felt extra fun and strangely familiar—because for the past year, they had been working under its image. Literally.
Architecture Field Trip to Roosevelt Island
A new design for the Middle school
traditions, technology and hands-on learning
The three-year architecture program, led by teacher Joe Rocchio for the past 16 years, is rich with traditions, technology and hands-on learning. Projects include designing beach houses, creating furniture out of recycled materials and making models of projects of the students' own choice, while using AutoCAD, a commercial computer-aided design and drafting software application.
Each class also takes two field trips to architecturally-significant places in the New York City area. Many of the destinations become part of the classroom, as seniors keep the tradition of painting structures and spaces visited on the architecture classroom's ceiling tiles!
Enter and look up
The record of architecture class conversations begins at the door, where the Oculus transportation hub is painted.
Enter and look up.
You’ll see a mosaic of iconic sites including the Statue of Liberty, the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, the Empire State Building, the Freedom Tower and the Roosevelt Island tram, as well as the main hallway at John Jay High School.
The Oculus transportation hub
a mosaic of memories
Ceiling Contributions of the Class of 2022
This year's seniors are adding a more global aspect to the ceiling. While Nick Savastano and Jake Kern are collaborating on a two-tile mural of the #5 train pulling into Grand Central, other additions include Mille Peacock's painting of the nave of the Carcassonne Cathedral in France, Sasha Volkova's imaginary Japanese tearoom and Siena Marrazzo's Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy.
After touring Roosevelt Island, the students boarded the tram heading back to Grand Central Station. The tram gained elevation; the view towards Lower Manhattan was breathtaking. Some may have noticed the Circle Line sightseeing boat on the East River and smiled. That, too, was on their classroom ceiling.