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
| Jun 20, 2013
Virtual meetings enhance design of University at Buffalo Medical School
HOK designers in New York, St. Louis and Atlanta are using virtual meetings with their University at Buffalo (UB) client team to improve the design process for UB’s new School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
| Jun 17, 2013
DOE launches database on energy performance of 60,000 buildings
The Energy Department today launched a new Buildings Performance Database, the largest free, publicly available database of residential and commercial building energy performance information.
| Jun 12, 2013
More than 90% of New York City schools have code violations
More than 90% of New York City schools have at least one outstanding building code violation. Loose wires, stuck doors and inadequate ventilation are just some of the problems.
| Jun 12, 2013
5 building projects that put the 'team' in teamwork
The winners of the 2013 Building Team Awards show that great buildings cannot be built without the successful collaboration of the Building Team.
| Jun 12, 2013
Sacred synergy achieves goals for religious education [2013 Building Team Award winner]
A renovation/addition project at Columbia Theological Seminary unites a historic residence hall with a modern classroom facility.
| Jun 11, 2013
Music/dance building supports sweet harmony [2013 Building Team Award winner]
A LEED Gold project enhances a busy Chicago neighborhood, meeting ambitious criteria for acoustical design and adaptability.
| Jun 11, 2013
Vertical urban campus fills a tall order [2013 Building Team Award winner]
Roosevelt University builds a 32-story tower to satisfy students’ needs for housing, instruction, and recreation.
| Jun 11, 2013
Building a better box: High-bay lab aims for net-zero [2013 Building Team Award winner]
Building Team cooperation and expertise help Georgia Tech create a LEED Platinum building for energy science.
| Jun 7, 2013
First look: University of Utah's ‘teaching hospital for law’
The University of Utah broke ground on its cutting-edge College of Law building, which will facilitate new approaches to legal education based on more hands-on learning and skills training.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
