John Jay Club Row
Club Row is a generous new hub for student extracurricular groups on the Manhattan campus of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. This interior renovation project transformed a warren of disconnected rooms into an expansive suite that invites open collaboration and fosters community activity with ample spaces for gatherings of all sizes. The heart of the project is its central club meeting area, where students can work individually or meet in small groups at custom millwork booths, which include wheelchair-accessible configurations. The booths are organized in two columns defined by their materiality: white oak woodwork enhances the internal row, while their counterparts along the curtain wall façade allow natural light to filter through their translucent acrylic. A bright, playful color palette creates a comfortable and lively atmosphere while taking the work of its student users seriously. Our design team created a wall of storage lockers assigned to individual clubs, with custom tackable covers create a geometric backdrop that will soon be decorated by pinned-up signs and flyers. A large, light-filled multipurpose room can be divided into three smaller rooms for meetings and events using movable partitions. Club Row offers dedicated club rooms for specialized student groups, such as a newsroom for the school newspaper and a soundproof recording studio, as well as a new campus store and offices for administrative staff. This project grants new agency to a diverse student body by constructing a comfortable, beautiful, and flexible facility for their independent use.