Built on a relatively small site at the intersection of Union Street and 13th Avenue in Capitol Hill, the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences Middle School is a new six-story vertically-configured facility that relates in volume to the mixed-use commercial core along the arterial street.
The academic spaces occupy the 51,372-sf building’s upper floors while the lower floors provide entry, administration rooms, gathering space, maker space, and music instruction. The lower floors also connect directly to the adjacent Seattle Academy buildings. A gymnasium and an outdoor rooftop playfield provide physical activity space.
The academic floors are broken up by grade with classrooms organized around collaborative learning spaces that are designed as double-height, stepped interior volumes that cascade between floors. Each classroom floor features a different accent color to create a sense of identity for each grade. “Classrooms have been conceptualized as independent units of learning that connect with each other, collaboration spaces, other grades and the rest of the school, providing a flexible educational experience,” said Mark Reddington, Partner-in-Charge, LMN Architects, in a release.
The two building volumes are wrapped in brick and punctuated by expanses or transparency. The façade is a mix of gray and cream bricks that fade vertically from dark to light. Red sunshades contrast against the brick backdrop and help bring the school’s identity outside of the building’s walls. An outdoor space at the entry provides an area for students to gather.
See Also: Teaching on the cutting edge of design
In addition to LMN Architects, the build team also included: Coughlin Porter Lundeen (civil and structural engineer), PAE Consulting Engineers (MEP engineer), Swift Company (landscape architect).
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 80 K-12 School Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, CMTA, Jacobs, WSP, and IMEG head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Higher Education | Oct 10, 2023
Tracking the carbon footprint of higher education campuses in the era of online learning
With more effective use of their facilities, streamlining of administration, and thoughtful adoption of high-quality online learning, colleges and universities can raise enrollment by at least 30%, reducing their carbon footprint per student by 11% and lowering their cost per student by 15% with the same level of instruction and better student support.
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 80 University Building Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, Jacobs, BR+A, and Salas O'Brien head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 100 University Building Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., STO Building Group, Suffolk Construction, and Skanska USA top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector contractors and construction management firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
University Buildings | Sep 27, 2023
Top 170 University Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, CannonDesign, Page Southerland Page, SmithGroup, and Ayers Saint Gross top the ranking of the nation's largest university sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
K-12 Schools | Sep 5, 2023
CHPS launches program to develop best practices for K-12 school modernizations
The non-profit Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) recently launched an effort to develop industry-backed best practices for school modernization projects. The Minor Renovations Program aims to fill a void of guiding criteria for school districts to use to ensure improvements meet a high-performance threshold.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
University Buildings | Aug 7, 2023
Eight-story Vancouver Community College building dedicated to clean energy, electric vehicle education
The Centre for Clean Energy and Automotive Innovation, to be designed by Stantec, will house classrooms, labs, a library and learning center, an Indigenous gathering space, administrative offices, and multiple collaborative learning spaces.
