Oct 7

Oct 7 2020 AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Design Award Winner

Meghan Parson

Design, Sustainability, Education, Community

Central hub inside Gilkey Middle School at Portland’s French American International School

2020 AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Design Award Winner

October 7, 2020

Hacker’s recently completed the French American International School Middle School in Portland was among sixteen projects to receive recognition for design excellence from AIA Northwest & Pacific Region last month. The awards presentation was held virtually on September 24, 2020, featuring projects from across our region in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, and Guam/Micronesia.

Check out the press release from AIA NW+PR here

‘Habitat for middle schoolers’

As students begin middle school, how can schools embrace the social independence that students crave while ensuring that they are also energized to drive their learning and are able to critically assess the media and information at their fingertips?

The French American International School in Portland, Oregon began thinking about these issues in planning for the replacement of their 20-year old modular classrooms with permanent structures, starting with their middle school program. In addition to reaching the end of their life, the scattered modular buildings had outdoor circulation, and in this rainy climate, offered no social spaces for gathering, much less for fostering community or empowering students. As the school began their long-term campus plan, they set bold goals for sustainability and resiliency, but they also asked what it means to lead an internationally-focused campus into a changing, unpredictable future. How can the design of this multi-lingual school facilitate creating the next generation of global leaders and creative thinkers who will solve future problems? How can the beautiful forest that borders the school inspire environmental stewardship and community resiliency?

The design solution took inspiration from the nurse logs, which create habitat for new seedlings by providing them initial structure and nourishment. For this project, the school created “habitat for middle schoolers” to grow, find their own inspiration, and work in community with their teachers to become our next global citizens.

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The building placement on the site takes advantage of both the natural beauty and the educational opportunities offered by the forested campus. Classroom wings are joined by a social hub where students can gather for lunch or special events.

The design concept treats classroom spaces as cabins in the woods, bringing the forest through the building and blurring the lines between inside and out. Using wood as a driving element throughout the design, the building not only connects to its surroundings but also sequesters carbon and supports local timber industry. Glulam beams and columns accent special points throughout the building, and Black Locust – a hardwood grown in the U.S. – replaces tropical hardwoods that would have otherwise contributed to deforestation.

A lively single-loaded corridor provides informal social learning along with the “HUB,” a central gathering space, both being accented by large operable windows.

In order to celebrate the building’s position above a significant natural watershed, rainwater runoff is emphasized on its journey down the building, under the forest trail, and into a stormwater pond. This visual expression of stormwater management will be used as a teaching tool, further connecting the building and students to the natural environment.

This configuration provides ample daylight and a connection to the landscape while simultaneously allowing cross-ventilation to occur naturally. Likewise, a 3-inch concrete topping slab acts as a solar heat-sink, passively regulating internal temperatures and reducing the need to electrically heat the space.

The project improves connectivity among the whole campus with the creation of a pedestrian street, amphitheater, outdoor dining facilities, and a new trailhead deck leading to forested trails.