Site plan

First floor plan

Second floor plan

Enlarged floor plan of grade level grouping of classrooms and nearby flexible support spaces

Plan of central courtyard with example set of vernacular architecture typology diagrams used to understand universal principles in the design of public spaces.

The entry plaza provides a space for parents to share news and teachers to organize students before entering the building.

The modular rhythm of the school’s massing respects the surrounding residences. Each wing steps down the sloping site to maintain the neighborhood’s scale.

The central courtyard is an informal learning space each student experiences every day as they move from building to play and from classroom to commons.

The building and site alternates spatially between expansion and compression moving through the entry plaza, lobby, central courtyard, covered play beneath the library, and playground.

Within the activity of the central courtyard, alcoves and seat walls define calm zones for students to engage in small group outdoor learning.

Teachers have students walk across the pebbled surface of the dragon paving in the central courtyard to transition students between academics indoors and recreation outdoors.

The main entry and other shared public zones are coded with red baffled ceilings, identity graphics, and routed “dragon skin” plywood wall paneling.

Identity graphics like the map wall promote inclusivity. The Sato-Fuller map projection depicts all land masses as one connected “island” instead of two divided hemispheres.

The commons flows out in all directions: to the central courtyard, up the stairs to the library, and to an outdoor dining deck.

Throughout the spacious library, cushioned reading nooks give students spots to rest and read. Glass behind the shelving gives a view over the central courtyard.

The library classroom looks over the play spaces to panoramic views of South Beacon Hill, Lake Washington, and Mount Rainier beyond.

Play areas are terraced to fit the site topography while maintaining visibility for monitoring. Open spaces look back toward the library and classrooms.

© Copyright 2022 Benjamin Benschneider

© Copyright 2022 Benjamin Benschneider

© Copyright 2022 Benjamin Benschneider