The new four-story addition to the Philip J. Abinanti School (PS108X) responds to a growing need for elementary school seats in the Bronx. It stands alongside the existing 1937 building not in contrast, but in conversation. The façade is clad in precast concrete panels created with custom and standard form liners with the geometric relief drawn from the Art Deco motifs of the original school. The system also performs as a cost-effective, fully sealed alternative to cavity wall assemblies. An early demolition package and meticulous phasing allowed construction to proceed without disrupting the operational school.

The new addition relocates the school's main entrance to Yates Avenue, connecting the lobby directly to the rear playground and reorienting circulation through the school. Community-facing program rooms, including the nurse's suite, guidance room, music room, and general office, congregate at the lobby, which sits at the junction of the new and existing buildings. Pre-K classrooms are situated near the early childhood playground, away from lobby traffic.

The noisiest spaces, the student dining room and the Gymatorium, are placed at the building's cellar and 4th floor respectively, away from instructional areas. Both spaces rely on clerestory windows to bring in daylight. Kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms occupy the second and third floors. At each level, breakout alcoves at the nexus of the two buildings offer space for informal gatherings. Each floor is distinguished by its own color, carried through coordinated floor and wall tile patterns that run the length of the corridors. Scaled to meet students at eye level, the shadowed color bands give each floor a distinct identity that students can recognize as their own and are referential to Art Deco graphic design.

The fourth-floor Gymatorium lobby, larger than those on the floors below, serves as a flexible space for school events and athletics gatherings. A mural by artist Delano Dunn, commissioned through the NYC SCA Public Arts for Public Schools program, anchors the space, transforming a moment of circulation into one of community pride. The new addition opened on schedule for the 2024–2025 school year.

Client: New York City School Construction Authority.
Agency: NYC SCA.
Program: educational.
Size: 67,000 SF, 4 stories + Cellar.
Team: Structural Engineering: Ysrael A. Seinuk. Mechanical: Loring. Civil Engineer: AKRF. Landscape: AKRF. Lighting: Loring. General Contractor: Navillus. Cost Estimator: Nasco. Elevator Consultant: CBA. Expeditor: Design 2147. Food Service: Romano Gatland. Photography: Michael Grimm Photography. Awards: Precast Concrete Institute Northeast (PCINE) Showcase Award, Best in Precast: K-12, 2026.