The task force’s first job was to examine their philosophy of how education works at the middle school and high school levels. How do students associate and learn best? What requirements should be established for facilities to maximize learning potential?
As the task force progressed, they began to work with FRK to understand how their philosophical decisions would affect the design of a new school facility. Integrating the philosophy of education and the reality of a physical classroom is a critical task for any architect. It is particularly important as both public and private school districts focus on improving the quality of the education they provide.
As the result of this exploration process, the decision was made to build a new middle school for students in grades 6 and 7. The existing middle school will then be reconfigured for students in grades 8 and 9, and the high school will become a 10-12 building.
The new middle school will include 160,000 square feet at a cost of approximately $18 million. It will continue to apply the district’s belief in community learning, with groups of classrooms clustered into ‘houses’. This will provide a framework for team building and collaboration, along with giving students a personal community that prevents them from being overwhelmed by the size of the entire school.
Another special challenge is that the new middle school will be built adjacent to the existing Horizon Elementary. In any situation where a middle school is located next to an elementary, it is critically important to develop a design that provides for separation of age levels and allows each school to have its own identity. This is a challenge that FRK has strong experience with, having worked with combined elementary and middle school facilities in several other communities.
Construction for the new 6-7 middle school began in spring 2003.
Owner:
Johnston Community School District
Size: 158,300 SF
Completed:
2004
Cost per SF:
$97.50 estimated
