Designed by Stantec, a Quaker high school is the first in the US to receive WELL Gold certification, which recognizes a commitment to occupants’ health and well-being. Part of the Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS), the new Pen y Bryn Upper School serves students in grades 9 through 12. Stantec provided architecture, interior design, and engineering for the Upper School.
Founded in 1961, the SSFS campus houses multiple educational buildings for more than 650 students from preschool through 12th grade. SSFS sits on a pastoral 140-acre campus in Maryland, midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Stantec’s simple, elegant design is meant to align with the school’s Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. In the new Upper School, students and teachers have access to a variety of educational environments—traditional classrooms, open or closed collaboration areas, and social spaces—that offer dynamic lighting solutions and flexible, ergonomic furniture.
The design features a biophilic strategy involving both environmental elements and energy solutions. The building extends learning to the outdoors with a covered front porch beside a meditation garden, a sunny maker-space patio, and a roof terrace. Inside, expanses of floor-to-ceiling glass provide daylight and exterior views in the classrooms, collaboration areas, offices, and social areas. The interior also incorporates large areas of ash wood walls created from trees reclaimed onsite.
In addition to its WELL Gold design, the Upper School is engineered as a net zero energy-ready facility: The total amount of energy used by the building annually roughly equals the amount of renewable energy created on the site or nearby.
On the building team:
Owner: Sandy Spring Friends School
Design architect and architect of record: Stantec
MEP engineer: 2RW Consultants
Structural engineer: Keast & Hood
General contractor/construction manager: Keller Brothers, Inc.
Civil engineer: Stantec
Landscape architect: Brian J. Stephenson + Company
WELL building consultant: Delos Living
Related Stories
Sponsored | Energy Efficiency | Jan 23, 2015
Rapid payback and reduced consumption with modulating buildings
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
Sponsored | | Dec 30, 2014
First-class glass: Designing for fire safety in schools
As more students enter the school system each year, designing for fire safety in educational facilities has never been more critical. Fire-rated glazing can be a key part of the solution.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Dec 2, 2014
Nonresidential construction spending rebounds in October
This month's increase in nonresidential construction spending is far more consistent with the anecdotal information floating around the industry, says ABC's Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
Sponsored | | Nov 26, 2014
What’s in a coating?
A beautiful coating on metal products can make a strong statement, whether used on a high-end commercial project or an industrial building. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Nov 17, 2014
Nearly two years after Sandy Hook, the bloodshed continues
It’s been almost two years since 20 first-graders were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but these incidents, both planned and random, keep occurring, writes BD+C's Robert Cassidy.
K-12 Schools | Nov 6, 2014
New Sandy Hook school features could influence security standards
The design of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School on the site of the 2012 Newtown, Conn., school shooting features enhanced security measures—some subtle and others more prominent.
| Nov 3, 2014
ASSA ABLOY announces sponsorship of Safe and Sound Initiative
ASSA ABLOY, the global leader in door opening solutions, has signed on as a platinum sponsor of Safe and Sound, an organization founded by families directly affected by the December 14, 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Sponsored | | Oct 29, 2014
Historic Washington elementary school incorporates modular design
More and more architects and designers are leveraging modern modular building techniques for expansion projects planned on historical sites. SPONSORED CONTENT
