Prototype Elementary School

Raleigh, North Carolina

Cherry Huffman Architects

Principal in Charge_Hal Bowen                     Project Manager_Heather Rowell                     Interior Design_Christie Giemza

Current statistics have placed the Wake County Public School system within the nation’s top 10 for growth. The unprecedented burst in the student population has led the school system to take drastic measures. Some students will find themselves attending mobile campuses this year, a temporary solution that is less than optimal. Struggling with increased construction costs and yearly budget restraints, mobile complexes are seen as the quickest, cheapest way to gain teaching spaces. The other solution put into motion by the school board is the commission of several prototype schools to be designed once and built several times. The benefits include cheaper design fees and the possibility of faster construction. The drawbacks: non-site specific buildings and schools that lack independent identities

Cherry Huffman Architects was asked to design a 98,000 SF new prototype elementary school. Our main design objective quickly became to create a prototype that is flexible to site variations and constraints and flexible in its layout to accommodate future education strategies.

Each grade level is grouped into a node connected by shared program spaces and vertical circulation. The lobby connects the classroom wing to the large, shared program spaces. The shape and placement of the lobby connector is easily changed to allow maximum flexibility with little design change. The design itself is to become an environmental awareness teaching tool with rainwater collection cisterns, bio retention and daylighting strategies. A straightforward layout aides in wayfinding and the building’s shape helps to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic.