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Urban Planners in the School Gym
At School Architecture Fair, Brooklyn Students
Render New York's Present and Imagine Its Future

By Emily Weinstein

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Teacher Feature: Helen Kraljic
Coming Soon: A Web Gallery of student work and photos from I.S. 201 in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn

Dina Kospetas and Agnes Pyrchla, geodesic dome experts. Stevin Nemeth’s class.

May 2002 - Dina Kospetas and Agnes Pyrchla barely pause for breath as they answer questions about geodesic domes. Using the models, diagrams, and life-sized domes next to them as aids, they explain how geodesic domes are built, how they are used, and how many triangles are needed to construct a dome as opposed to a sphere.

These are two students whose learning has transformed them into enthusiastic teachers. Dozens of similarly eager sixth and seventh graders in gold bowler hats staff other displays at the I.S. 201 Dyker Heights Architecture Fair.

The fair includes everything from models of city landmarks (accompanied by detailed explanations of the use of scale) to projects focusing on the community of Dyker Heights, a Brooklyn neighborhood nearly in the shadow of the Verrazano Bridge. There are also futuristic designs for all-in-one recycling plants, fanciful dream houses and bridges built out of materials from cardboard to Kinex toys. The fair represents months of problem-solving, planning and in-depth research on the part of the students at Dyker.

The Chelsea Hotel, with lace for balcony railings by Katherine Knutsen, Melissa Chu and Amira Kalil, sixth graders in Marisa Bolognino’s class.

A scale model of St. Patrick’s Cathedral by Bridget Sanfilippo, a seventh grader in Helen Kraljic’s class.

Songs about New York blare in a cheerful loop. I whistle along to Frank Sinatra and Billy Joel and carefully reach out to touch the models. A recreation of the Chelsea Hotel, impeccable down to the signs on the storefronts, stands next to a beautiful model of St. Patrick's cathedral, which abuts Grand Central Station. The Williamsburg Bridge stretches across one table; the Manhattan Bridge spans another.

Seeing all these landmarks in one place tugs at the emotional connections between New Yorkers and their city. Visitors "ooh" and "ah" almost involuntarily at the sight of their favorite buildings.

Lovingly re-created by middle school students, the models are a poignant tribute to the city. For a moment, it seems possible that no matter what happens, our world can be reassembled in a drafty gymnasium, from oak tag and foam core board, glue and Popsicle sticks.

Next Page: Salvadori at Dyker: A Decade of Collaboration