Team & Process

Predesign
A school scheduling consultant was a critical part of the design team during the programming and pre-design phases. By anticipating break-out and informal learning spaces and by reducing instances of idle classrooms, the team was able to maximize the use of school instructional time while minimizing the space required for implementation of the school’s educational practices.

Fortuitously, the design team was brought on board prior to final site selection. Evaluation of two possible sites led to selection of the current site, which offered several environmental benefits. In addition to the environmental benefits mentioned previously, the proximity with the existing school facilitates allows for a shared parking plan, which results in fewer parking spaces than would have been required had the schools been constructed on separate parcels. The selected site offers two other benefits: its selection helps to activate the historic resource of Camp Carondelet and preserves the alternative site as park land.
The design team utilized an integrated design process, which allowed team members to quickly reach consensus on building massing and footprint. The final site strategy balanced imperfect solar orientation with forest preservation and emergency access requirements on the narrow buildable area of the site.