| After many years at a local church site, the new charter school campus now sits on 6.3 acres with two buildings totaling 40,000 SF serving 470 elementary and middle school students. The new campus also includes an attached lunch shelter, outdoor amphitheater, a multi-purpose hall for PE classes and special events, as well as a running track and athletic that look out onto the Sutter Butte mountain ranges. The colors of the surrounding mountains, golden rice fields, blue sky, deep red earth, and various colors of sunrays inform the colors that we hope to incorporate into our buildings. Inspired by the orchards nearby, we also placed clusters of trees at the main plaza between the two school buildings. Trees planned at the plaza are deciduous which will add rich colors as seasons change and also provide shade in the summer and allow warmth and sunlight in the winter.
The two buildings are modeled after a prototype school building our office has developed and are high-performing and flexible designs that support a variety of spaces and uses and is adaptable to future changes in program, size, pedagogy, technology and operations. They comprise two independent structural systems: A pre-engineered metal building shell and reconfigurable and non-structural interior walls. As such it allows for flexibility and adaptability for future alterations or re-purposing of the building. The long-span steel structure is free of interior columns to allow maximum flexibility for interior space planning. Exterior cladding is non-structural allowing us a variety of facade treatments and the use of moment and braced steel frames allow walls, doors, and windows to be placed free of structural constraints. The project employs a construction process more akin to the industrialized production of manufactured goods. Much of the major building components are pre-fabricated off site, which expedites construction, reduces waste, and minimizes traffic. Steel was chosen as the primary building material because of its high recycled content and potential for future recycling.
The goal of the project design is to use the building as a teaching tool, providing instructional opportunities that are combined with a physical learning environment. By building economically and sustainably, we are demonstrating what it means to design and construct a healthy, high-performing school, all while conserving resources, pushing toward a greener economy, and educating stewards of our environment.
The best charter schools inspire their students to excel. As architects, we strive to design to the same level of excellence and to create buildings that are themselves tools for teaching. By designing healthy and sustainable schools we may help close the achievement gap and inspire better learning.
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