Whitby School

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Whitby School

Perspective Looking to Courtyard

Drawings   17  browse all »

Construction Set: Structural
Construction Set: Plumbing
Construction Set: Heating and Ventilation

Photographs   1  browse all »

Artist's conception

In 1959 the director of the Whitby School asked Breuer to design and furnish a new elementary school building because he admired Breuer’s work at Saint John’s Abbey. Breuer and his associate Robert Gatje situated low buildings of brick, glass and concrete on three sides of a central paved courtyard. The wings to the south and east contained classrooms, while the north side contained offices, a kitchen and a large multi-purpose room. A concrete covered walkway supported by massive V-shaped piers like those used at the Annunciation Priory defined the west side but could be replaced by more classrooms to accommodate the school’s growth. The folded concrete roof of the north and south wings was another distinctive feature of the design. The project was canceled after contractors’ bids came in too high. Breuer and his client had to enter arbitration to reach mutually agreeable terms.