Shefa School

Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, The Shefa School’s new campus reimagines a 1920s office building as a vibrant educational environment for K-8 students with language-based learning disabilities. As a pluralistic Jewish day school committed to inclusive and personalized instruction, Shefa partnered with Dattner Architects to transform the 12-story structure into a vertically integrated academic facility that supports its specialized programming and dual-language curriculum. As part of the building’s façade, custom architectural glazing plays a key role in visually expressing those values. Dattner Architects led the planning and design of the adaptive reuse project, while McGowan served as the general contractor, overseeing construction from concept through completion.

GGI collaborated with Viracon to deliver over 550 square feet of high-performing insulating glass units with a decorative design using Alice® direct-to-glass printing technology. GGI’s contributions included material sourcing, specification support, and coordination of the digital imaging process to ensure the final product aligned with the school’s vision. The glass design features symbolic artwork that reinforces The Shefa School’s culture and purpose while enhancing the quality of natural light within the space.

The pomegranate plant featured in the glass artwork is a powerful visual element within The Shefa School’s new campus. In Jewish tradition, the pomegranate symbolizes abundance, wisdom, and righteousness. The qualities resonate deeply with the school’s values. This imagery was selected to align with the school’s name, Shefa, which means “abundance” in Hebrew. As Ilana Ruskay-Kidd, founder and head of school, shared in an interview with the New York Jewish Week, the design reflects the belief that every student possesses unique strengths and blessings. The digital imaging on glass captures this spirit, turning architectural glass into a lasting symbol of growth, purpose, and identity.