Viewing NAC|Architecture's web site requires Adobe Flash Player Version 8,
which can be downloaded free
here:
Get Flash
K-12 School Projects:
Wilson High School, Tacoma Public Schools, Tacoma, Washington: 2008 International Design Award in Architecture, Third Place - Institutional Design, International Design Awards (IDA); 2008 Citation of Excellence, Learning By Design (national award); 2008 Judge's Choice Award, IEQ: Visual, Acoustical, Thermal, Air Quality, School Planning & Management Magazine Green Design Awards.
"Integrated Design Planning Is Key to a Healthy Classroom" by Guy Overman
. In this comprehensive replacement and modernization project, a new three-story building replaced four existing buildings and eight portables, helping consolidate the campus with a compact centralized facility. The site area of the demolished buildings was redeveloped to provide landscaped areas, plazas and parking. The new building houses 25 general classrooms, nine science classrooms, six computer labs, a therapeutic learning center, a library, and administration and guidance centers. 85,700 square feet of instructional space was replaced, and 9,500 square feet of new space was added. To create this high-performance facility, the design team incorporated sustainable features into a fully integrated system that involves the building envelope; siting; layout; materials; and mechanical, electrical and control systems. Exterior sunshades and louvers provide high-quality daylighting and reduce solar heat gain to the interior. Photo-sensitive control of the indirect/direct classroom lighting reduces electricity usage and heat loads. One- and two-story light shafts extend light to the rear of the classrooms and also conduct warm return air to the rooftop mechanical penthouse via fan-assisted natural convection. A displacement ventilation system – the first installed in a Washington high school – provides 100% outside air to the building, maximizing indoor air quality.
Rogers High School, Spokane Public Schools, Spokane, Washington: 2009 Mayor's Choice Award, City of Spokane Mayor's Urban Design Awards. John R. Rogers High School's original, historic 90,000-square-foot building was renovated and restored with a new 170,000-square-foot addition designed to complement the classic art deco design, providing a renewed, state-of-the-art high school and a revitalized community icon. Two large celebratory entrances on each side of the first-floor administration office and second-floor library clearly establish entrance points for students and visitors. A third entrance to the athletic center is easily seen as secondary to the main entrances. A new clock tower located near the student entrance to the commons is a beacon, clearly signaling the main school entrance. Daylighting and views were a major design element with nearly every classroom featuring windows, either to the outside of the building or into a courtyard contained within the building. Each room is equipped with lighting sensors that turn lights off after periods of inactivity.
Glacier Peak High School, Snohomish School District, Snohomish, Washington: 2010 Gold Citation, American School & University Educational Interiors Showcase; 2010 Civic Design Merit Award, American Institute of Architects Washington Council, as Cathcart Site with Little Cedars Elementary School; 2010 Award of Excellence, American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education (National Award), as Cathcart Site with Little Cedars Elementary School: The Cathcart Site is a steeply sloped site comprised of 70 acres in a rural/suburban zone of the county. The site was conceived to house two schools – a high school and an elementary school. The buildings of the two schools are located close to each other so they can share event parking, the high school's auditorium and other site facilities. Their proximity also allows high school students in certain programs to monitor elementary students, thus building community on the site. Originally a second-growth forest, the Cathcart site overlooks a valley with spectacular views to the Cascade Mountains to the east. The design concept was shaped by a desire to do justice to the former and remaining site character, interpret its memory, and imbue the new experience with a rich and varied relation to nature. Integration of the site’s memory should hopefully raise students’ and the community’s awareness of the fragility and importance of our natural habitat. Despite the extensive man-made site interventions, including fields, parking, and 310,000 square feet of buildings, individuals continuously find themselves relating to the surrounding nature in many different ways. The “mythical” distant views are constantly rediscovered as one circulates through the site and buildings; a tactile sense of landscape can be felt as one passes by numerous rain gardens. The project design focuses on the experiential quality of architecture as an essential ingredient for meaningful learning and growing.
Ferris High School Gymnasium, Health and Fitness Complex, Spokane Public Schools, Spokane, Washington: 2008 Citation of Excellence, Learning By Design; The Gymnasium, Health and Fitness Complex is the first phase of a two-phase redevelopment of the entire Ferris campus. Designed as an addition to Ferris High School, the 54,000-square-foot facility includes a new main-events gymnasium with a 1,775-spectator capacity on the main floor. The public lobby, spectator entrance, concessions, ticketing and restrooms are located at the northeast corner of the main gym. A 200-seat auxiliary gym is located adjacent to the main gym with the fitness center, weight room and multipurpose mat/wrestling room located on the east side of both gyms. This gym provides a second fitness teaching station, as well as a competition venue for freshman/JV basketball and volleyball tournaments. Positioned for easy access and potential use by the public, a weight room and fitness room are provided on the east side of the gyms with access from the main lobby and spectator entry space. A multipurpose mat/wrestling room is located south of the weight and fitness rooms for easy student access to P.E. classes there, as well as convenient access to the main-events gym for wrestling matches. Locker rooms for boys and girls are located on the west side of the main gym.
Cavelero Mid High School, Lake Stevens School District, Lake Stevens, Washington: 2009 Project of Distinction Award, CEFPI (Council of Educational Facilities Planners International); 2009 WAN Education Award Semifinalist, World Architecture News; 2009 Honorable Mention, Learning By Design; 2008 James D. MacConnell Award Finalist, CEFPI (Council of Educational Facility Planners International); The academic classrooms for Cavelero Mid High School are grouped into four personalized learning centers (PLCs), each serving 375 students, on two separate floors. In each center there are three 125-student learning groups for math, science, language, and social studies that surround a shared learning space, thereby encouraging integrated learning. These PLCs also contain support functions and flexible labs for applied arts and sciences. While this school is well-suited for integrated learning, it is adaptable to most any learning model. It is currently housing several departments in three wings and an alternative high school in the fourth wing. Flexibility was the crux of the planning theme since programs frequently change to meet the students` evolving educational needs in the workplace. These “small schools” within the larger learning environment foster active engagement between teachers and students, as well as create an intellectually stimulating learning community among students, who otherwise may feel lost in a school of 1,500 students.
Eastgate Elementary School, Bellevue School District, Bellevue, Washington: 2010 Civic Design Citation Award, American Institute of Architects Washington Council; 2010 Citation of Excellence, Learning By Design (National Award); 2010 Citation, National School Boards Association Exhibition of School Architecture: The Eastgate Elementary School replacement explores conceptual and physical approaches to organizing space, positing an answer to the questions: What constitutes a school’s unique experience? How is the building typology formalized? The project identifies and examines the aspects of daily school life that can provide a basis for reinterpretation of the early learning environment. The goal is to integrate architectural and site design to foster a variety of learning experiences. The reinterpretation of schools as a type occurs by exploring students’ changing psychology and experiences and their relationship to a school’s architectural spaces with the intent of stimulating learning in all its forms. Defining school as ”a place to grow and learn, a place to connect with self, nature, and community,” this project posits an architecture that instructs. It is architecture of alternating solid and void, abstraction and logic, and stimulation and experience. Circulating through the school, one experiences the constantly shifting relationship of outside and inside, of prospect and refuge. The courtyards provide exterior instruction convenient to all learning areas. The building volumes open to the exterior, allowing daylighting throughout the school. Exterior finish textures comprise a system of scale, eliciting responses at different distances to approach, engage or touch.
Little Cedars Elementary School, Snohomish School District, Snohomish, Washington: 2010 Civic Design Merit Award, American Institute of Architects Washington Council, as Cathcart Site with Glacier Peak High School; 2010 Award of Excellence, American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education (National Award), as Cathcart Site with Glacier Peak High School; 2009 Citation of Excellence, Learning By Design; The goal was to create a physical environment that accommodates the variety of ways students learn through both indoor and outdoor spaces that are flexible, engaging, and spark curiosity and exploration. The dynamic experiences in and under the bridges and in the terraced courtyard lend themselves to experimentation and a multiplicity of uses by small and large groups. For example, the outdoor amphitheatre can be used for a teaching arena, a student performance venue, an outdoor learning area, or a place for play. The Snohomish community highly values the natural setting of the site and the ability to enjoy the outdoors. The school is conceived as two wings connected by two bridges spanning a terraced, natural courtyard. A mechanical basement carved into the slope efficiently facilitates the displacement ventilation system that provides 100% fresh air at floor level to all classrooms. With a clear view of Mount Baker from the library and views to the surrounding forests throughout the school, nature is constantly present. These expansive views bring the outside in, allowing a constant connection to natural cycles. The forested edges of the site serve as quiet backdrops for the library and the small group spaces adjacent the classrooms.
Durango School District, Durango, Colorado: Needham Elementary School: The modernization and addition to Needham Elementary School included an addition of eight K-5 classrooms, support spaces and a multipurpose room. The classroom addition provides a team teaching environment for an expanding student population. A variety of activities can be accommodated by the multipurpose room, including project-based learning, performance, science/art fairs or other group and community-based activities. Improvements to the existing building included complete mechanical and electrical systems replacement, technology upgrades and spatial reconfiguration to improve the educational program delivery, and inclusion of an early childcare program. Sustainable features include low-e window glazing, a solar wall, and an energy management system.
Escalante Middle School: The 10,500-square-foot addition to Escalante Middle School encompassed a number of program-responsive spaces, such as a technology lab, a family and life sciences kitchen and classroom, and classroom space and support spaces so that learning spaces could be recaptured at each grade level. The addition was functionally and architecturally incorporated into the existing building geometry while integrating the Center Base (special education) Program in the classroom core to assimilate the program into the typical school environment. Portions of the building were remodeled to create a new independent studies classroom, a computer lab and an enhanced art/darkroom space. Natural lighting and low-e window glazing were used throughout the school.
Miller Middle School: Miller Middle School was a multi-phased modernization and addition project. A new administration area, commons, and classroom space for 6th and 7th grades comprised the 25,000-square-foot addition. The 95,000 square feet of modernized area included classroom, kitchen, library, music and auditorium spaces. The mechanical and electrical systems were fully upgraded. The design respects the existing community and character of the building while simultaneously providing a sense of organization and entry. Classroom additions and modernizations unified team teaching concepts to better meet program and educational goals. Extensive use of windows and glass walls infuse the school with natural light.
Mountainside Middle School, Mead School District , Spokane, Washington: The new 115,260-square-foot Mountainside Middle School houses 17 mainstream classrooms; two 'options' classrooms; six science classrooms; an art room; band and choral suites; three resource rooms with separate DLC suite and support spaces; a library/media center; two separate gymnasiums with adjacent locker facilities, fitness room, weight room, and wrestling/climbing room; industrial technology shop and classroom; and various educational and building support facilities. Natural buffers of trees and vegetation line the entire east and west sides of the site. The building sets back approximately 350 feet from the road, which allows for landscaping and visual relief from vehicle traffic. Outside site improvements include an eight-lane track with a football/soccer field contained within, two baseball fields, two softball diamonds, shot-put area, and a full-size soccer/P.E. field. The site includes a dedicated bus loading lane with a separate area for DLC buses, a separate lane for student drop off/pick-up, and parking for 300 cars to accommodate event parking.
Lewis and Clark High School, Spokane Public Schools, Spokane, Washington: 2005-2006 Citation, American Institute of Architects (AIA)/Committee on Architecture for Education; 2003 Citation of Excellence, Learning By Design; 2002 Award of Merit, American Institute of Architects (AIA)/Spokane; Northwest Education-"Building on the Past, An historic school in Spokane emphasizes leadership and advocacy"; National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities - Historic Neighborhood Schools Deliver 21st Century Educations; Masonry: An integral part in historic Lewis and Clark renovation; Cabling Installation & Maintenance - Lewis and Clark discovers advanced communications: Historic high school in Spokane, WA now boasts high-capacity network; Built in 1912, Lewis and Clark High School had not undergone any major improvements to its historic main building in over 80 years until this comprehensive modernization and major addition was undertaken. The finished 316,000-square-foot school includes a total modernization and restoration of the main building, including repair of the exterior brick and terra cotta facade and replacement of the wood sash windows. A 12-classroom addition to the main building blends seamlessly with the existing architecture. Featuring a contemporary design, the addition, with its brick and precast-concrete facade, evokes images of the original building. Inside the renovated structure, the auditorium has been restored to its original grandeur and all classrooms have been entirely reconfigured and updated with the latest technology for fiber-optic telecommunications and mechanical systems, flawlessly integrated into the building. The sensitive restoration extends to the historic wood panel doors, marble stairs and partitions, and terrazzo floors, which were refurbished and reinstalled. A new building containing an events field house and athletic complex, band and choir facilities, and underground parking is linked by a pedestrian sky bridge to the modernized older structure. The new building was designed as a contemporary interpretation of the traditional academic style - complementing the original building with its massing, materials and details - yet is restrained and subdued, paying respect to the splendor of the original refurbished building. Off-site amenities include a renovated athletic facility, complete with locker rooms, located at an existing athletic field complex.
Kirkland Junior High School, Lake Washington School District, Kirkland, Washington: 2006 Citation Award, Learning By Design; 2005 Project of Distinction Award, CEFPI; Building masses are organized along two axes - a north-south circulation spine and a “transparent” entry and view axis. At the center is the symbolic heart of the school, the library. A secondary “transparent” axis formed by the angled entry colonnade and commons bisects the library, establishing the entry and emphasizing the connection to and view of the play fields and adjacent Crestwoods Park. As part of an arts focus program, the upper portion of the library's cylindrical form is a student gallery intended for informal gathering and display of student art. Similar classroom wings flank the library, creating a courtyard for use as an entry and outdoor studio for the adjacent art classroom. These wings reduce the apparent mass of the building while supporting a smaller, nurturing environment or “house” concept of learning.
Gratts Primary Center and Early Education Center, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles, California: 2008 Award of Honor - Project-in-Design, Coalition for Adequate School Housing; The Gratts Primary Center and Early Education Center is a joint-use project partnering with A Community of Friends, who provides low-income housing immediately adjacent to the school. It will be located near downtown Los Angeles, north of 5th Street between Lucas and Hartford. The project is intended as an expansion of the existing Gratts Elementary School immediately to the north. Programmed at 32,761 square feet with 1.4 acres of play area, the Primary Center provides facilities for 380 students. The Early Education Center will be a state-licensed daycare facility, designed to serve 176 pre-school and early-school-age children. The Early Education Center is programmed at 12,620 square feet and provides 13,000 square feet of outdoor play area for students. With a 40-degree slope from north to south on the 2.31-acre site, the project makes innovative use of multiple levels to create varied play spaces, including a protected play area on the roof of the parking structure for the kindergarten students. Play space is also provided atop the lunch shelter to increase the amount of area available. After-school access to the site by the local Boys & Girls Club is provided at the shared property line. This project was designed based on principles of California High Performance Schools with sustainable principles such as orientation, natural lighting, sustainable materials, and energy-efficient systems.
West Valley High School, West Valley School District, Spokane, Washington: 2008 Robert Fraser Excellence in Masonry Design Award, Masonry Industry Promotion Group; Designed to be a dramatic transformation of the existing school – originally built in 1957 and added to in 1961 and 1988 – the exterior design features a contemporary, cohesive façade, eliminating the visual hodgepodge created by additions of various vintages. A key element of the design is a new main entrance at the southwest corner, clearly identifying the school’s primary entry. The carved-granite archway of the original West Valley High School is prominently positioned in the two-story glass lobby and visible from the building’s exterior. A new 1,865-seat main-events gymnasium was added with a fitness area overlooking the athletic fields above the lockers adjacent to the gym. The new library serves as a strong architectural focus in the center of the building near the existing theater with its 150-seat addition. In the interior, the new commons/cafeteria emerges as a striking centerpiece of the high school visible from the diagonal entry. With an enclosed courtyard outside, the space serves as the social center for students and an after-hours meeting space for the community.
Graham-Kapowsin High School, Bethel School District, Graham, Washington; The form of this 180,000-square-foot building is Northwest in character, using a low, sloped roof with deep overhangs, exposed structural members, strong horizontal lines, and exploitation of the often limited natural light. This approach seemed fitting for the typically suburban and semi-rural character of the surrounding community. Bethel School District selected a learning model that places science in a department with three learning center “houses” for language arts, math, computer skills and social studies for 1,250 students in grades 10 through 12. All houses contain teachers' offices and a conference area, with center commons spaces for joint activities. Two circulation axes converge at the two-story community union space. The administration and counseling areas are circular forms at the focus of the circulation axes. The library is directly above and convenient to the houses. The building also contains a 400-seat auditorium and a 2,000-seat main gymnasium.
Central Valley & University High Schools, Central Valley School District - Veradale & Spokane Valley, Washington:
"Masonry Makes the Honor Roll in Central Valley" by Steve McNutt
; 2004 Award of Merit, American Institute of Architects (AIA)/Spokane; 2003 Robert Fraser Excellence in Masonry Design Award, Masonry Industry Promotion Group; The nearly identical plan for these 239,000-square-foot replacement high schools met the unique requirements of each site, and also addressed bus circulation, athletic fields and events stadium. The building’s plan and mass are organized into separate and distinct academic and activity zones arranged around a central commons that serves as the school’s social center. Each school zone has its own entrances, including major after-hours entrances at the performing arts center on one end of the building and the gymnasium and athletic complex at the opposite end of the school. Both the performing arts center and the athletic complex have their own associated parking lot, allowing simultaneous use of the building and site for these distinct functions. The administration/counseling center and the media center above are centered prominently at the front of the two-story building behind bold full-height concrete-block columns symbolizing the building’s academic significance. The entire building, clad with highly detailed patterned brick, a concrete-block base, and precast-concrete and metal-panel accents, conveys a sense of permanence and timelessness.
First Creek Middle School, Tacoma School District, Tacoma, Washington: The project arose from the need to merge two smaller schools into a new facility. It is based on the design of Giaudrone Middle School, a project opened in 2003, and known for its use of natural lighting to improve the quality of teaching spaces. Through interviews with district staff and close coordination with the design team, NAC|Architecture and the District modified the prototype to best fit this site. The layout places the commons as the core of the school with three two-story classroom neighborhoods feeding off the central spine, separating the academic wings from the activity areas. At the entries, large windows and projecting canopies create an open and inviting feeling, while at the same time providing supervision and security.
Lake Hills Elementary School, Bellevue School District, Bellevue, Washington: 2005 Top Honor Award - Unique Design Category,Excellence in Masonry Design Awards, Masonry Institute of WashingtonThe culturally diverse student body at Lake Hills Elementary School served as inspiration for the design of the new 69,000-square-foot facility: more than half of the students speak a native language other than English. Panels etched with the greeting “Everyone is Welcome“ in 21 different languages fill the two-story entrance foyer, conveying a sense of community among the students. The overall form of the building is a U-shape that encloses and protects a central student courtyard, which forms the physical core of the school. The users’ desire to integrate a courtyard that would serve as a gathering place for students was a principal driver for the new design. Classrooms are large (about 1,000 square feet) to accommodate the variety of activities that occur throughout the day in an active elementary learning environment. To enhance students' learning opportunities, technology was thoughtfully incorporated in the school. All classrooms are networked, wireless ready, and equipped with interactive white boards – which work as touch-screens – integrated with the teacher’s computer and capable of saving or printing whatever is written on them. A comprehensive daylighting strategy was employed throughout the school. The innovative strategy is most apparent at the brick wall, where daylighting is borrowed from the exterior clerestories through classrooms to the interior corridor. The light entering from the courtyard extension complements the light coming from the top of the second-floor corridor. Abundant daylighting allows natural light to reach deep inside the school's interior.
Ellensburg High School, Ellensburg School District, Ellensburg, Washington; In designing the new Ellensburg High School, the school district's mission statement was taken to heart: “... a partnership of students, parents, educators, and community ... committed to the education of all children to meet the demands of a changing global society ...” User groups and other project constituents participated in the design process to ensure the school`s increasingly sophisticated and varied academic and technological requirements would be met by the 191,000-square-foot facility. In addition to general classrooms; science, computer and multimedia labs; and two gymnasiums, the school, whose curriculum includes agricultural and vocational-technical courses, also features a greenhouse as well as shops for power, construction, metals and agricultural studies. To accommodate the district`s Mobile Curriculum Support Laboratory, a program that brings portable computers into classrooms for web-based student projects, the necessary technology and infrastructure were integrated into the school`s design and construction. The structure`s rustic exterior theme - a modern adaptation of the arts-and-crafts architectural style - echoes the school`s rural setting in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range. Replacing a 1950s campus-style facility, the new school achieves an ideal balance of function, aesthetics and comfort.
Woodridge Elementary School, Bellevue School District, Bellevue, Washington: The design of the 63,000-square-foot replacement facility for Woodridge Elementary School focused on developing an engaging learning environment that supports Woodridge`s high academic goals. Through a collaborative process, key goals were identified: create a sense of community for students, provide a welcoming place for parents and visitors, apply environmentally sensitive principles, and take advantage of the remarkable views from this hilltop site. A key element of the design was the central gallery space; it is the sunlit core of the building, connecting all parts of the school and acting as a mixing chamber supporting the sense of community throughout the school. The gable end of the gallery forms the front door, providing a clear, identifiable entrance that is both prominent and friendly. The building is oriented to optimize natural daylighting of the classrooms and take advantage of the exceptional views to the west from public areas.
Glacier View Junior High School, Puyallup School District, Puyallup, Washington: This new junior high school comprises the second phase of development for an emerging K-12 campus. When completed, the 90-acre campus will include elementary, junior high, and high school structures that can share facilities, allowing programmatic interaction among students of different educational levels. The design of the 98,000-square-foot, two-story building provides for three smaller grade-based learning communities to break down the size of the school and offer maximum collaboration potential for teachers and students. Glacier View uses a material pallet that relates well to the existing high school on the campus, yet the form and design of the junior high clearly identify it as a separate school in the composition of this K-12 campus. The design of the building, which is placed within the existing site grades to minimize site disruption, thoughtfully includes sustainable features that reduce heat gain from sun exposure, and utilizes lighting techniques that capture balanced natural daylight.
Results:
Higher Education | Research | Laboratory
Healthcare
Residential | Continuing Care Communities
Commercial | Hospitality
Civic | Public
Recreation | Community
Restoration | Preservation
On the Boards
Story:
One of Us
Contact Us
Home
We have offices located in Seattle and Spokane, Washington; Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado.
Contact Us
Seattle Office
2201 6th Ave Ste 1405
Seattle, Washington 98121-1847
phone: 206-441-4522
fax: 206-441-7917
Los Angeles Office
3951 Medford St
Los Angeles, California 90063-1608
phone: 323-859-3100
fax: 323-859-3110
Spokane Office
1203 W Riverside Ave
Spokane, Washington 98021-1107
phone: 509-838-8240
fax: 509-838-8261
Denver Office
450 W 14th Ave No 40389
Denver, Colorado 80204
phone: 720-335-6248
fax: 720-294-3465
