American School for the Deaf

This morning began quietly on the campus of The American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut. Other than one of my clients from Tai Soo Kim Partners, only the Canadian geese braved the brisk morning temperatures. It was my first time on the grounds, so the gradual movement of dawn light to sunrise to morning light allowed ones attention to focus on the new buildings details progressively, bit by bit. This new Gallaudet-Clerc Educational Center replaces Gallaudet Hall. In fact, it was built just yards in front of the older, much larger facility. This new school is much more lean in scale and modern in visual style. It efficiently fits the school’s current smaller population, but is  full of new technologies to help deaf and hard-of-hearing students master their studies.

Inside, the spaces are light filled, benefit from subtle shades of white to grey, and muted colors are used sparingly. Each space I photographed felt like a breath of fresh air. Natural light pours inside through the dramatic multi-story glass atrium and the prominent skylight/roof system that bisects the building from front to back.

The morning and afternoon was punctuated by greeting teachers, students and staff just long enough to say hello. I only prepared “Hello, my name is Anna” in sign-language. As day quickly turned into twilight, we joined the geese once again and captured the final photographs.