Desert Sage School

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Desert Sage School

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Educational › Elementary School Other

Desert Sage School (DSS) is a preschool through 4th grade academy dedicated to providing a unique, affordable, and "green" learning environment for children ages six weeks through ten years old in the Las Vegas Valley. DSS caters to families concerned with "embracing nature as an extension of the classroom..." The school provides students with an eco-friendly curriculum to assist them in becoming interdependent learners by motivating natural curiosities and engaging them in intellectual pursuits transferrable to the real world. Desert Sage School will be recognized as the most progressive preschool/lower school in the Valley. They offer children in the Las Vegas Valley, and eventually the southwestern U.S., an exceptional learning experience that benefits the community as a whole.

MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES
 LEED Gold certification or better
 A 30% potable water use reduction in comparison with typical Clark County schools
 A 50% energy use reduction in comparison with typical Clark County schools
 Divert 100% of all construction waste from the landfill
 Recycle 90% of the waste produced by the school
 A 20% overall recycled content of all building materials
The architecture of the Desert Sage School is designed to be an extension of its natural environment that engages students in learning, rather than being a passive participant in the process. As a result, both the outdoor spaces and classroom spaces become extensions of one another creating opportunities for the children to explore, invent, experiment, investigate, and evaluate their actions. This inclusive approach to integrating the curriculum with its setting fosters positive development by providing opportunities for choice and responsibility and assists children in becoming independent learners by motivating natural curiosities and engaging them in intellectual pursuits transferable to the real world.
The placement of the buildings and their interstitial learning environments, creates a series of interpretive diversions throughout the campus and makes movement through the site a series of small journeys. The result of this approach is the creation of a campus, rather than a building, organized along a series of public and group spaces that the classrooms can look upon.
The classroom buildings are organized around a common, central courtyard, with two paired sets of classrooms attached to it. The courtyard acts as a "front yard" to classrooms, with the four small outdoor gathering spaces facing the four principle directions acting as a "back yard" to each classroom for more intimate gatherings. Each classroom also shares a teachers’ office and a mini-studio, as well as a loft above connecting the two classroom spaces.

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Brandon Sprague

Architect, Designer

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Desert Sage School

Desert Sage School

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team