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Webster Elementary School
Webster Elementary School
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Webster Elementary School
Type
Set within the fabric of an older, inner-city residential neighborhood, the existing school facilities were cramped on the site, showing signs of abuse and neglect, and were a mish-mash of unrelated architectural styles due to different periods of construction. The challenge of the expansion/revitalization program involved creating cohesive and uplifting environments, improve the entire facility’s layout for better student/teacher circulation as well as monitoring for both students’ and facility’s security, and conserving utilities through use of landscaping alternatives and enhancing interior lighting.
Fostering a cohesive and uplifting environment not only for the primary users yet also with the older, urban fabric: The school building harmonizes with the fabric of the surrounding single-family houses by complementing their character of low, gray, composite shingled rooflines and raised seam roofs set on off-white colored exterior walls. Carefully selected colors and textures relax students and stimulate mental activity in psychologically diverse yet tranquil interiors. An integral component for the overall success of this design was due to the extended design team that was comprised of faculty, administrators, custodial staff and parents, not the least of which were the surrounding neighbors. The neighbors had had such a tremendous impact that they now have a greater sense of pride and ownership. Under their watchful eye, this school campus (one of over 120) has seen no graffiti and has not been vandalized to date. And, as a result, adjacent property values have risen.
Improve the facility’s circulation and monitoring campus: Immediately upon entering the facility via the main entrance, one senses a welcoming embrace as well as security and the much-improved circulatory pathways. An open trellis constructed of suspended pipes greets visitors and creates a unifying directional spine that transverses the site, connecting the new structure to the existing facilities. Also complementing this relationship is the new structure’s triangular footprint that realigns movement within the existing campus plan. Lit from above by a central skylight, administrative offices introduce visitors to the school campus and monitor passage into and out of the facility. From here, glass partitions within these spaces allow both principal and vice principal to view corridors, commons areas, and playground. Portable classrooms (those that are required to remain) are re-arranged in an arc whereby creating an amphitheatre space in order to improve circulation and visual monitoring of play areas.
Energy conservation through landscaping and use of natural lighting: Going beyond the idea that the building’s envelope is the one-in-all component that conserves energy, energy may be further conserved by other means. Using drought-tolerant plants helps reduce life-time water consumption and, as supplementing artificial light with natural light reduces life-time electrical costs. As an added benefit, natural lighting from glazing above helps children avoid being distracted from ground-level activities as well as keeping in touch with the time of day and as the weather changes.
The overall effect of this project has much improved spirits among the staff, administration and students with the acknowledgement that students’ test scores are rising significantly rising. A bright, safe and uplifting environment has been achieved for children and teachers, and the surrounding community.
Fostering a cohesive and uplifting environment not only for the primary users yet also with the older, urban fabric: The school building harmonizes with the fabric of the surrounding single-family houses by complementing their character of low, gray, composite shingled rooflines and raised seam roofs set on off-white colored exterior walls. Carefully selected colors and textures relax students and stimulate mental activity in psychologically diverse yet tranquil interiors. An integral component for the overall success of this design was due to the extended design team that was comprised of faculty, administrators, custodial staff and parents, not the least of which were the surrounding neighbors. The neighbors had had such a tremendous impact that they now have a greater sense of pride and ownership. Under their watchful eye, this school campus (one of over 120) has seen no graffiti and has not been vandalized to date. And, as a result, adjacent property values have risen.
Improve the facility’s circulation and monitoring campus: Immediately upon entering the facility via the main entrance, one senses a welcoming embrace as well as security and the much-improved circulatory pathways. An open trellis constructed of suspended pipes greets visitors and creates a unifying directional spine that transverses the site, connecting the new structure to the existing facilities. Also complementing this relationship is the new structure’s triangular footprint that realigns movement within the existing campus plan. Lit from above by a central skylight, administrative offices introduce visitors to the school campus and monitor passage into and out of the facility. From here, glass partitions within these spaces allow both principal and vice principal to view corridors, commons areas, and playground. Portable classrooms (those that are required to remain) are re-arranged in an arc whereby creating an amphitheatre space in order to improve circulation and visual monitoring of play areas.
Energy conservation through landscaping and use of natural lighting: Going beyond the idea that the building’s envelope is the one-in-all component that conserves energy, energy may be further conserved by other means. Using drought-tolerant plants helps reduce life-time water consumption and, as supplementing artificial light with natural light reduces life-time electrical costs. As an added benefit, natural lighting from glazing above helps children avoid being distracted from ground-level activities as well as keeping in touch with the time of day and as the weather changes.
The overall effect of this project has much improved spirits among the staff, administration and students with the acknowledgement that students’ test scores are rising significantly rising. A bright, safe and uplifting environment has been achieved for children and teachers, and the surrounding community.
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