The building’s large glass façade embraces its surroundings, visually inviting the community inside. On the inside, a choreographed sequence of spaces inspires a creative community of students to take a memorable journey. We have created a building that brings a little bit of Times Square to Astoria, Queens.
Susan T. Rodriguez, Design Partner
Supported by a public/private partnership, this 1,000-student high school for the visual and performing arts realizes Tony Bennett’s and Susan Benedetto’s long held vision to honor Frank Sinatra’s legacy.
The school building is a great work of art, capable of inspiring greatness within, and befitting the great esteem in which we should hold our most democratic of institutions, public education.
Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto, founders of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts
The building performs within the urban landscape, broadcasting the arts to the community through a transparent façade that connects students with the City. The state-of-the-art facility includes studios, performance spaces, and an 800-seat theater as the focal point of the structure, placing artmaking and performance at the core of the building’s design.
A perimeter frame of daylit classrooms and studios opens onto a central atrium space that rises through the building’s five stories. The shared internal space buzzes with energy, fosters interdisciplinary communication among students and acts as a venue for performance and the display of student work.
At the top level, the student cafeteria and hallways open up to a green rooftop courtyard and performance area, visually connecting interior and exterior spaces.
The School anchors the Kaufman Arts District, which has redefined this former industrial area of Queens.
