River Grove Elementary School in Oregon Rendering: Arcadis

Fully electric Oregon elementary school aims for resilience with microgrid design

The River Grove Elementary School in Oregon was designed for net-zero carbon and resiliency to seismic events, storms, and wildfire. The roughly 82,000-sf school in a Portland suburb will feature a microgrid—a small-scale power grid that operates independently from the area’s electric grid.

School Construction

A school district in Utah aggressively moves forward on modernizing its schools

Two new high schools manifest nuanced design differences.

K-12 Schools

A San Antonio school will provide early childhood education to a traditionally under-resourced region

In San Antonio, Pre-K 4 SA, which provides preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and HOLT Group, which owns industrial and other companies, recently broke ground on an early childhood education: the South Education Center.

K-12 Schools

Surprise, surprise: Students excel in modernized K-12 school buildings

Too many of the nation’s school districts are having to make it work with less-than-ideal educational facilities. But at what cost to student performance and staff satisfaction?

Aug 11, 2010

Cherokee Nation center employs eco-friendly features

Three new schools for K-12 students are the focus of a $108 million, 473,000-sf Cherokee Nation multipurpose complex based in Cherokee, N.C. Designed by Padgett & Freeman Architects and built by BE&K Building Group, the center was designed to reflect the art and heritage of the Cherokee people, evidenced by the seven-sided shape of the two courtyard areas and traditional basketweave pat...

Aug 11, 2010

Hillside school sports exciting shape

An education facility for 1,200 students and 300 teachers will grace a hillside in the Faroe Islands town of Torshavn. The 19,200-sm Faroe Islands Education Centre, designed by Copenhagen-based Bjarke Ingels Group, will have a panoramic view overlooking the sea, mountains, and harbor. The building's vortex shape radiates toward its surroundings while drawing attention to the center of the school.

Aug 11, 2010

New Union City school to use remnants from old building

With 35 classrooms, a media center, science labs, and music rooms, Columbus Elementary School #3 in Union City, N.J., is being built on a confined site, so designer RSC Architects, in conjunction with HOK, will implement underground parking and a rooftop playground. RSC Architects also salvaged classical porticos from a former school at the site; they will be reused to create dramatic entryways...

Aug 11, 2010

High-density planning allows abundant open space

Gilroy Unified School District's new Christopher High School in California opened its first phase this fall. The 1,800-student, 231,000-sf facility was designed with a high-density site plan that allows for both on-site sports fields and undeveloped open space. BCA Architects of Fremont, Calif., with Gilbane Building Companies as CM, collaborated with numerous user groups to plan the two-story,...

Aug 11, 2010

And the world's tallest building is…

At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.

Aug 11, 2010

Courtyard connects new and remodeled schools

Good Fulton & Farrell Architects of Dallas designed a major expansion and renovation at the Dallas Academy in Texas. The 22,900-sf addition serves as the school’s new front door and includes a library, student assembly area, cafeteria, seven classrooms, and administrative offices. The school’s existing 14,560-sf building was renovated to accommodate a lower school component, and...

Aug 11, 2010

Connecticut high school gets a expansion and renovation

The Morganti Group, Danbury, Conn., is managing the construction of a $41 million addition and renovation project at Newtown (Conn.) High School. Designed by Fletcher Thompson, Shelton, Conn., the project consists of a 70,000-sf addition and 30,000 sf of renovations to the gymnasium and interior spaces.

Aug 11, 2010

School district plans net-zero building

Camas (Wash.) School District is planning to utilize one of three energy sources—photovoltaics, wind turbine, or geothermal—to help take its new community high school completely off the grid. The school district commissioned Interface Engineering to explore all three options for the project, which is scheduled to break ground in August.

Aug 11, 2010

LA high school takes design cue from historic Mexican architecture

The Los Angeles Unified School District recently opened the $75 million Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center, a high school in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, near Little Tokyo. Designed by Nadel Architects in a joint venture with Barrio Planners Inc., the 114,000-sf school is vertically integrated, allowing the campus to fit on a compact, six-acre site.

Aug 11, 2010

Nursing home turned charter school opens in Dorchester, Mass.

Cambridge, Mass.-based HMFH Architects spearheaded the design for the conversion of a former nursing home in Dorchester, Mass., to learning and community space for the Neighborhood House Charter School. The pre-K—8 school has two classrooms for each elementary grade level, clusters of middle school classrooms, a cafeteria, media center, and art, computer, music and science classrooms.