The overall objective for this new elementary school was to contribute to the growing and aesthetically-focused community, a flexible, state-of-the-art facility that emphasizes “anytime learning” in a healthy, light-filled environment. Other goals included following a fully-collaborative process to create a space that would contribute to the students’ overall well-being and future success by providing a long-lasting facility that will adapt to everchanging teaching/learning methods. It was also imperative that the design is an efficient facility that will be easy to maintain and operate for decades to come. The design features evoke architectural elements common to the local vernacular, such as towers, light monitors, and playful rhythm of structural elements. The color palette included brilliant whites and pale grey tones with dark brown brick accents, and driftwood greys. These stand out against the greenery of the longleaf pine forest surrounding the school while blending beautifully with the beach communities to the south.
This project challenges the traditional learning environment and incorporates accommodations for modern-day pedagogies while adding the health and cognitive learning benefits of a Biophilia-focused design. In the center of each east-west classroom zone, we provided anytime learning spaces that teach students about specific ecological zones as they move through the building. From there, each classroom zone is branded with an animal, flora, and ecosystem. To incorporate the benefits of daylighting, every classroom has views and access to the outdoors. Each pair of classrooms shares a core composed of restrooms, storage, teacher planning office, and conference space, which encourages further collaborative and creative instruction between classrooms. The incorporation of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) techniques was prevalent throughout the school’s design. Views and classroom access to the outdoors provide visibility and a level of campus transparency that reduces the risk of an unknown intruder entering the campus. This setup provides a form of “eyes on the street” in the event of an emergency.
Inside the classroom, collaborative furnishings allow the space to be reconfigured multiple times during the day for maximum flexibility in instructional methodology. Access to the outdoors encourages outdoor learning and unique instruction methods. Storage space, a common complaint from teachers, was also considered and extra cabinets and closets were included in every classroom.
Efficiency:
This project uses passive orientation, light shelf and brise-soleil daylighting strategies, Insulated Concrete Formed Walls, LED color-tuned lighting, Ipe and other environmentally-conscious interior finishes, native landscaping, and a variety of other considerate design strategies.
Safe Campus:
Because safety is critical in the design of educational facilities, the incorporation of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) techniques was prevalent throughout the school’s design. Views and classroom access to the outdoors provide visibility and a level of campus transparency that reduces the risk of an unknown intruder entering the campus. This setup provides a form of “eyes on the street” in the event of an emergency.
Environmental Appreciation:
It was found early in the collaborative process that developing an appreciation of the unique and diverse environment surrounding the school was of high importance. In response to this, the design of the school specifically responds to the local environment surrounding the site, provides cross-curricular learning opportunities and teaches students about the plants and animals they might encounter in the area, and how to be good stewards within this environment.
Classroom and Teaching Flexibility:
Inside the classroom, collaborative furnishings allow the space to be reconfigured multiple times during the day for maximum flexibility in instructional methodology. Each pair of classrooms shares a core composed of restrooms, storage, teacher planning office, and conference space, which encourages further collaborative and creative instruction between classrooms. Access to the outdoors encourages outdoor learning and unique instruction methods. The master plan of the school was also designed with the consideration of future expansion. Since the county in which this school is located is currently the 21st fastest growing county in the nation, additional educational spaces to accommodate the influx in students had to be accommodated.