Cathedral Apartments

In recent years, the reduction of Catholic schools left some gems waiting for resurrection. One was the Cathedral High School in Brooklyn, a complex structure which John Gillis /Architects transformed into a livable, comfortable haven for forty families. The building is shaped as a “U”. The center of the “U” -- the old school play-yard -- is now a courtyard garden designed for use by all the residents. Also, a series of small private gardens enhance those apartments that open onto the courtyard.
The courtyard, the center of life in the complex, also provides a new entrance and circulation pattern for the apartments: A new external, continuous balcony was created around the courtyard to provide access to the apartments. The balcony rail is a modern, gothic-inspired steel ornamental patterned railing that complements the quality of the original building. Creating the new entrance allowed the architects to maintain the original facades of the building which were full of expert, richly detailed stonework and sculpture that would be stunningly expensive to recreate, and too valuable to lose.