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First Floor | Communal Terrace
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Second Floor | Play/Learn Terrace
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Third Floor | Naturalistic Terrace
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Building Section & Space Planning Organization
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Site Plan
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Organizing the new school into three terraces nestles it into the landscape.
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The main entry has a comfortable two-story scale.
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The entry terrace provides flexible space for community participation, with a main formal area and an informal area. Bellevue Public Libraries uses the Learning Stairs to give presentations to the students.
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The second terrace has a variety of outdoor and indoor informal spaces.
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Learning tool: ventilation stacks in the second floor courtyard have LED lights with changing colors to reflect in-taking or exhausting air from the mechanical room below.
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The informal courtyard on the second terrace provides students ample opportunities for playing, learning, and socializing.
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Located on the second terrace, the library provides a broad panoramic view of the neighborhood’s wooded perimeter, engaging nature at a medium-large distance.
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Green roof extends learning opportunities outside, connecting students with the wider setting.
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Informal shared spaces on the third terrace connect to three indoor classrooms and to an outdoor learning area, establishing a direct link to nature.
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Nestled into the hillside, the classrooms on the third terrace have a direct, intimate connection to nature.
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The informal courtyard on the second terrace has a one-story feel.
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Nestled into landscape, the new school engages its site at a variety of experiential scales.
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Benjamin Benschneider
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Benjamin Benschneider
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Benjamin Benschneider
Located on a steep wooded hillside in suburban Bellevue, Washington, the Bennett Elementary School replacement takes advantage of the existing topography to integrate architecture with its natural setting and create a user experience that operates on a cozy, intimate level. Even while doubling capacity, the new building performs like a series of interlocked communities, each with its own character and opportunities.
Three distinct terraces set into the hill allow each floor to convey a smaller scale, and offer a variety of ways to connect with nature. By articulating and distributing the building massing across three levels, the structure never appears taller than two floors, and preserves the small school feel.
Nestled in the trees and framing distant views to the wooded perimeter engages the surrounding environment as part of daily education. Each terrace has its own distinct character to challenge students with real world encounters that promote “problem-based” learning. The lower floor is the communal terrace, connecting students to the concept of community and larger gathering spaces. The middle floor is the play/learn terrace, including a central courtyard for active and social learning. The upper floor is the naturalistic terrace, including access to a forested ecosystem.
Bennett Elementary School
Category
Early Childhood School/Elementary School
Description
Project Location:
Bellevue, WA
Architecture Firm
NAC Architecture
Seattle,Washington
www.nacarchitecture.com
https://www.facebook.com/nacarchitecture/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nac-architecture/
https://twitter.com/nacseattle?lang=en
Photography By:
Benjamin Benschneider
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