C. B. J. Snyder - School Design Innovations

School Design Innovations

Snyder saw school buildings as civic monuments for a better society. He was concerned with health and safety issues in public schools and focused on fire protection, ventilation, lighting, and classroom size. Snyder used terra cotta blocks in floor construction to improve fireproofing, and large and numerous windows to allow more light and air into the classrooms. He also developed new methods for mechanical air circulation in school buildings. The problem of school design in New York was compounded by the relatively constricted sites which were necessitated by the high cost of land acquisition.