Rosa Parks School and Ohio University take top honors

PRE-K to 12
ROSA PARKS SCHOOL

From their well-planned and innovative design plans to their use of finishing materials and natural light, two educational facilities have what Learning By Design judges call the ultimate “wow factors” that earned them 2008 Grand Prize Awards. Dull Olson Weekes Architects, Portland, OR, earned top honors in the pre-K to 12 category for Rosa Parks School, Portland, OR, and Moody Nolan, Inc., Columbus, OH, and WTW Architects, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, won a Grand Prize in the college and university category for Ohio University, Baker University Student Center, Athens, OH.

Learning By Design judges said these two educational facilities emerged from the oustanding design projects entered in this year’s competition for their impressive use of innovative design and construction to make these buildings more than attractive and student-friendly. They both reach beyond their walls to serve the community at large.

Namesake of the civil rights icon, Rosa Parks School is a K-6 school at the center of the Community Campus at New Columbia in North Portland, OR. Notably, the school is the first green educational facility to win a Learning By Design Grand Prize Award. And while LEED certification is not required to enter the green category of the design competition, Rosa Parks School has been certified LEED Gold. (See the new Green Special Section of projects starting on page 30.)

Learning By Design judges noted the design’s outstanding layout of classrooms, which allows for flexible small-group learning as well as traditional classroom learning. “There is a nice sense of transparency between the spaces,” judges commented. “They’re using the whole building to learn either formally or informally.

The connections between the classrooms were carefully designed. Everything has natural light.”

The school is divided into four neighborhoods, each serving 125 students. Each neighborhood contains five classrooms, a resource room, and a neighborhood commons.

“The building demonstrates a lot of contemporary community use and academic use,” judges noted. “On the outside of the building, there are touches of wood that make it appropriate for the Pacific Northwest and make it look less institutional.”

Judges also praised the building’s green design features as part of the learning experience for students. Outdoor spaces use drought-resistant plants and are designed and landscaped to support learning. For example, an outdoor sundial/compass designed into the concrete serves as a hands-on lesson plan related to earth science. Other green features of Rosa Parks School include a stormwater retention and discharge system, a recycling center for community use, and photovoltaic cells that provide real-time readings of energy consumption, which are displayed throughout the school and in classrooms.

In addition to the Rosa Parks School, the Community Campus at New Columbia features a Boys & Girls Club and a community center, making the school an integral part of neighborhood activity. The school also includes a Literacy Center and a Family Resource Center for community use after hours.

“This school is firing on all cylinders. It’s doing everything right,” judges commented. “What’s more, it’s part of a larger powerful idea. It’s the whole neighborhood that’s being renewed. The Rosa Parks School is a catalyst for that.”

Dull Olson Weekes Architects
for Rosa Parks School

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
OHIO UNIVERSITY BAKER
UNIVERSITY STUDENT CENTER

The Grand Prize for colleges and universities was awarded to the Baker University Student Center at Ohio University, Athens. The new building impressed judges with its overall site plan and design, which creates abundant visual connections among student center levels that strategically overlook a five-story atrium that is flooded with natural light during the day.

“There is a lot of visual connection between the levels of the building,” judges noted. “There is conveyance between the different levels. Instead of isolating the levels and isolating people, the design of the building gives you spaces to stop and hang out. It’s fostering a sense of community within the campus.”

Judges also noted the building’s innovative interior use of traditional and contemporary styles to create comfortable spaces, such as dining areas for students’ daily use, as well as formal spaces for special or group events.

“It’s a nice mix of formal and informal spaces,” judges said. “There’s a formal ballroom for large functions and they’ve got spaces for student activities. The building has a great sense of scale. It doesn’t feel pompous. It brings together the university community.”

The topography of the 4.3-acre site was a challenge, judges note, but designers did an excellent job of overcoming the steep incline of the land. The building’s atrium features escalators that are viewable from each level, creating a connected open space.

“The main thing inside is that unifying central space. There are playful overhang areas that allow people to see different things,” judges said.

At the top of the five-story atrium is an octagonal rotunda and dome that are in line with the main street that runs in front of the building, creating a focal point for Baker University Student Center from the street.

Moody Nolan, Inc./WTW Architects, Inc. for
Ohio University Baker University Student Center