Attempts to site the school more centrally within the district near US 9W failed when opposition from a local community activist led to the defeat of a bond issue that would have funded the building.

Its design, frequently compared to an airport terminal, connects two otherwise separate structures built into the 50 acre (20 ha) site's gentle slope with glass-enclosed overhead and ground-level walkways.

All interiors are painted predominantly white, adorned with student artwork and porcelain tile walls, and colorful accents on classroom floors.

The classroom corridors in the rear structure intersect the walkways at oblique angles, meant to echo (along with the steel latticework on the elevated walkways) the railroads in the region's history, particularly the nearby Moodna Viaduct, a spectacular trestle and local landmark depicted on a student painting above the entrance to the library.

Their windows flare outward, suggesting a control tower and taking in the ample views of the Hudson Highlands and Storm King Mountain available from the site.