In a community that had not built a new school since the 1950s, Northwood Elementary School was a chance to embrace new learning modes and integrate with the surroundings in a new paradigm, while easing overcrowding in the District.
The school is located on Mercer Island, positioned directly between the cities of Seattle and Bellevue. It occupies the corner of a large, multi-use campus, adjacent to one of the last remaining stands of madrona trees on the island.

The design is an ecosystem of flexible and fluidly connected spaces that promote active learning. Set on a hillside with a protected entry on the upper floor, the program layers learning around a central courtyard that opens to the madrona grove and a Boys & Girls Club. Learning spaces ring the courtyard: classrooms on two levels to the north respond to the quiet residential context, community spaces spinning outward to the south engage site partners, while administration and outreach programs flank the ends at points of entry.

Continuity and flexibility are paramount to the ability-based learning program. L-shaped classrooms are clustered in pairs to maximize ownership and function as resource-rich learning and small group spaces. By nesting pairs of classrooms with shared learning spaces along a continuum, the scale is broken down yet strong relationship to the larger school community is maintained. In addition, new typologies of learning are formed.

An outdoor ‘exploratory lab’ leverages the contours of the site to create a sheltered space between the built and natural environments. An indoor ‘discovery lab’ leverages two previously underutilized community spaces – the library and the cafeteria – to form a new hybrid: equally maker-space, quiet-dining, and home for expert in-residence programs.

The AIA Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) honored Northwood Elementary School with a 2017 Design Award of Excellence.