The site layout maximizes north and south exposures. Students have access to outdoor learning spaces on both sides of the school.

The outdoor classroom spaces are strategically designed to mimic the roots coming out from the center of the tree. The forms and shapes of the side walks mimic those of tree roots.

A series of outdoor classroom spaces are created in between each wing of the school with easy access from every classroom.

The floor plan organized around the Magnificent Tree with three classroom wings radiating around the trunk of the tree.

Experience of the building starts at the entry, with a roof resembling the wings of a playful butterfly landing to welcome the students to school.

The school fosters positive, everyday interactions and relationships with the natural environment through a series of outdoor pockets for play, exploration, and outdoor learning.

The concept of the Magnificent Tree at the heart of the school grounds the campus. It represents stability, strength, individuality, knowledge, peace, connectivity, growth, and community.

In the library, students can gather in a leaf-shaped table, huddle over a carpet with a grass-like texture or climb a wood bench surrounding the Magnificent Tree.

Symbolic natural references of patterns and textures in the materials and forms immerse students in a natural-feeling environment enticing them to travel deeper into the school.

Classrooms are designed to be flexible with movable furniture, sliding walls, visual and physical access to flex and small group rooms for collaborative and individual learning.

Similar to housing birds, small mammals, and reptiles, the trunk now houses a small group learning space for the students in the media center.

The corridor mimics walking through the woods along a wood deck with trees, grass and stone borders along its sides.

Media center featuring the Magnificent Tree, flexible furniture, and carpet mimicking grass and moss on pavers.

The school plays with light, space, and hierarchy to create both a sense of place and movement throughout the building.

Media Center. The canopy of leaf-shaped clouds creates a sense of warmth and protection of being under the cover of a living organism.

The school graphics throughout embrace and honor the community’s culture of sustainability, importance of nature, and love of trees.

Wade Griffith

Wade Griffith

Wade Griffith