Memory, Transformed into a New Environment

Between The Wonderful Natural Quality andThe Large New Man-made Intervention

The Site as a Generator of the Learning & Growing Experience

Task :

Master plan 65 acres site to accommodate a new high school and an elementary school

Goal :

Integrate nature as a teacherRaise the culture of sustainabilityExisting Site

Mountain View to the East

N

Social Connection

Academic Functions

Active / Public Functions

Nature Path

0 50’ 100’ 200’ 300’

Nature Path Social / Visual Connections

Site PlanN

The nature path anchors the schools to the site. Social spaces invigorated by nature link the school programs.

TRACK

SOCCER FIELD

BASEBALL

BASEBALL

SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

TENNIS

WETLAND

POND

POND

POND

HIGH SCHOOL

ELEMENTARY

RAIN GARDENS

FIELD

Concept Diagrams

The site is integrated into all aspects of school life. Starting with the elementary school, nature is brought into the daily life of the school. As one moves to the high school, nature continues to permeate your experience, establishing a lifelong relationship with the environment.

Nature Path0 25’ 50’ 100’ 200’

N

Section

Section

1. SCIENCE 2. ART 3. CIVIC / PUBLIC / SOCIAL

Science

CTEArt

Green House

Wet Land

Covered Play

Academic

Amphitheater

Gym

GymPAC

Site as a Social & Knowledge Connector

N

Science Outdoor Area

The integration of the site design, outdoor spaces, and the nature path allow programs like science and art to expand outdoors and connect with other programs, expanding the capacity of educators to allow the natural history of the site to enhance and broaden the learning process.

The task of the 21st Century learner is increasingly about making connections between various disciplines, ideas, and patterns.

2

1 2 3 4 5 6

43

5

1

6

Courtyard

0 25’ 50’ 100’ 200’

N

0 25’ 50’ 100’ 200’

67

9

11

8

12

7

10

41

1

137

7

15

14

UPPER LEVEL PLAN

7. HOUSE 13. LIBRARY 14. FITNESS15. AUXILIARY GYM

LOWER LEVEL PLAN

1. SCIENCE2. OUTDOOR SCIENCE AREA3. WETLAND4. SHOPS/VOCATIONAL5. GREEN HOUSE

6. KITCHEN 7. HOUSE 8. ADMINISTRATION 9. COMMONS 10. ART 11. GYMNASIUM12. PERFORMING ART CENTER

3

52 2

MAIN LEVEL PLAN

6

24

7

31,2

5

REFUGE SPACESPROSPECT SPACES

Personalizable Prospect & Refuge Spaces

The prospect and refuge spaces dynamically alternate throughoutthe site and the buildings.

1. ADMINISTRATION2. CLASSROOMS3. AMPHITHEATER4. LIBRARY5. MULTI PURPOSE ROOM6. GYM7. COVERED PLAY AREA

31 2

1

2

34

0 25’ 50’ 100’

N

LOWER LEVEL PLANUPPER LEVEL PLAN

4Are they texting their friends in Japan or exploring National Geographic’s website?

Prospect & Refuge Character

1

2 3 4

Prospect and refuge spaces change char-acter according to students’ age, space function and its relationship to the site. The elementary school shared small group area has a strong sense of protec-tion. The high school library has the ulti-mate prospect view to the distant moun-tains. The Performing Art Center lobby “brings in” the panoramic quality of the wooded site edge.

12

34

Nature Path:Authentic Outdoor Learning Environment

The Nature Path runs through both schools bringing a natural character to the many outdoor learning areas. The infusion of nature into these environ-ments helps students appreciate and learn from the landscape, teaching the benefits of sustainability.

4 5

2 3

1

3

25

4

1

Nature as a Teacher - The Seasons

Rain leader becomes a winter sculpture. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....

Site Memory: Interpretations of the siteThe design honors and reinterprets the character of the previously forested site through integrating salvaged boulders, stumps, and logs into the land-scape; a memory. They serve both as a tacit reminder of the site’s history and as tactile sculptures intended to encourage student curiosity, allowing nature to become the teacher.

1

2 3

4

21

43

School Community

Social and communal spaces in and ad-jacent to the Nature Path create indoor and outdoor opportunity for social, recreational, educational and civic use.

1

2

3

4

5

2

31

45

Lifelong Community UseImpromptu use of the site and the fields by the community on the Sunday after Christmas

1

3 4

2

1

2

34