Packer Garden House

The Packer Garden House is a project made possible by women, conceived, led, and realized through their collective expertise and vision. From the earliest concept to the final details of construction, women shaped every decision, transforming Packer’s historic Brooklyn Heights campus into a forward-looking environment centered on sustainability, wellness, and belonging. Under the leadership of WXY’s Founding Principal, Claire Weisz, FAIA. Hon. FRAIC, Hon. ASLA, who guided the visioning for Packer’s Facilities Master Plan and the Garden House itself, the project aimed to unify architecture, landscape, and learning within a single, community-oriented campus. Project Manager Farida Abu-Bakare, OAA, FRAIC, led the design phase, facilitating deep stakeholder engagement to align educational goals with environmental stewardship. Project Manager Kendall Baldwin, RA, carried this vision through construction, coordinating the Design Team and ensuring that the project’s ambitions, technical, social, and spatial, were delivered with precision and care. Working alongside Packer’s predominantly female leadership, including Head of School Jennifer Weyburn and Head of Lower School Zoe Hillman, the team embodied a model of practice where collaboration, empathy, and rigor shaped the outcome. Each phase was driven by a shared understanding of how the built environment can strengthen learning and community life. The resulting 17,250-square-foot mass-timber addition consolidates the Lower School into a single home base, connecting to the campus through a glazed corridor that opens onto a reimagined central garden. With its cross-laminated timber structure, all-electric systems, and universally accessible design, the Garden House marks a new chapter in educational architecture. WXY’s partnership with Packer stands as proof that when women design, the framework shifts. Sustainability becomes systemic. Learning becomes embodied. Architecture becomes an ongoing act of care.