Philips Academy School
Paterson, NJ
Philips Academy is a school building in Paterson, New Jersey. Paterson was known as the “Silk City” for its dominant role in silk production during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The concept for this charter school is drawn from this prosperous period in Paterson’s history when textile production was the dominant industry. The façade of thin brick, metal panels, and operable fenestration are tightly woven together to simulate a fabric. The massing of the building steps down towards the site’s perimeter in response to the scale of the neighboring homes. In scale, color, and material, the new building is stitched about lighted, colored, single-family clapboard homes.
All photos copyright Hoachlander Davis Photography
Silk factory in Paterson circa 1913

Reed >>> warp >>> cloth

Paterson’s industrial base of mills and factories developed around a seventy-seven-foot-tall waterfall (the Great Falls) that provided power in the area. Alexander Hamilton helped encourage the harnessing of energy from the Great Falls as a means to power textile mills that would secure economic independence from British manufacturers. Paterson became the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America. In the latter half of the 19th century, silk production became the dominant industry and formed the basis of Paterson’s most prosperous period, earning it the nickname “Silk City.”


Philips Academy is constructed on a site once occupied by a textile mill. The neighborhood originally included dozens of buildings and small homes associated with the textile industry. Many of those homes remain today and comprise the fabric of the surrounding area. The massing of Philips Academy steps down towards the perimeter of the site in response to the scale of these neighboring homes. In scale, color, and material the new building is stitched about the lighted colored single-family clapboard homes.


Philips Academy provides a moral and rigorous education to a diverse student body, accomplished in a hands-on, technology-infused educational environment that embraces differentiated instruction and individual attention that will allow students to attend college while developing a commitment to global citizenship, environmental sustainability, and personal virtue. The first floor of the building contains major public spaces including the gymnasium, play courtyard, and dining area. The upper two floors hold the majority of the classroom educational space, allowing larger gathering spaces to be shared with the community while maintaining separation from the individual classrooms.

Corridors and classroom

Cafeteria

Gymnasium

Courtyard
