Carl Sandburg Elementary School
Architects & Firms
Kirkland, Washington
Program: A two-story, 66,580-square-foot public elementary school for 600 students. The building, which replaces a roughly 40-year-old school on the same site, consists of a steel-structure classroom wing with a library and office, along with a concrete structure housing a gymnasium and multipurpose performance space.
Design concept and solution: After four decades in an inward-focused building with little outdoor communal space, Carl Sandburg Elementary wanted an extroverted building with a strong connection to the landscape. To keep the school open during construction, the architects sited the new structure north of the old. They wrapped the two wings around a grove of big-leaf maple trees, and deferred to the grove’s shape by angling the classroom wing away from it. The NAC team clad the building with a combination of concrete masonry units and prefinished steel siding. To emphasize the school’s environmental focus, they mounted solar panels on a galvanized steel frame affixed to the glazed facade; the panels double as shades for the computer lab inside. The architects divided the academic wing into neighborhoods of three or four classrooms. Each neighborhood is anchored by a central communal classroom with glass walls and doors, which gives teachers the flexibility to observe several groups of students at once. The classrooms open onto patios and other outdoor learning areas near the maple grove. For the interior materials the team chose a natural palette. They defined the main public areas with a textured fir-panel ceiling, which extends from the commons to the library, and set off the corridors’ dark gray carpet and polished concrete with warm finishes such as stained-MDF wall panels. In addition to the solar panels, the school’s sustainable features include geothermal heat pumps, daylight-responsive lighting, and a rain garden.
PeopleClient: Lake Washington School District Owner: Lake Washington School District
Architect:
Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Architect of record: NAC|Architecture Interior designer: (performed within firm) Amanda Clausen
Engineers: Mechanical: Hargis Engineers, Inc. Electrical: NAC|Engineering Consultant(s): Landscape: Weisman Design Group, Inc. Acoustical: Sparling & Associates General contractor: SpeeWest
Photographer(s): Completion Date: September 2012 Gross square footage: 66,580 gross square feet Total construction cost: $21,720,911 |
Products
Structural system
Exterior cladding Metal Panels: AEP Span Metal/glass curtain wall: EFCO Curtain wall: EFCO
Roofing
Windows
Glazing Insulated-panel or plastic glazing:
Doors Wood doors: VT Industries Fire-control doors, security grilles: Overhead Door Corp.
Interior finishes Suspension grid: Armstrong Paints and stains: PPG Industries / Miller Paint Co. Resilient flooring: Nora Rubber Flooring Carpet: Mohawk
Lighting Downlights: Essentia LED Exterior: Gardco LED Dimming System or other lighting controls: Wait Stopper Daylight Sensing Controls
Conveyance
Energy Photovoltaic system: Sunpower |
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