Riverdale Grade School

1. 2011 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture Riverdale Grade School Portland, Oregon New Construction Project of Distinction Mahlum

2. Riverdale Grade School

4. Rebirth of place. Community Environment: The design of the a new grade school campus for the Riverdale School District is a story about the rebirth of a place which has knitted the community together for over 90 years. The community identified the architectural vocabulary of the 1923 school house as the most important factor in connecting with Riverdale’s history. Efforts to maintain the 1923 building proved unacceptable to the district due to building area limitations on the small site by an easement, an existing gymnasium and a steeply sloped forest. The new two-story main building designed in a contemporary interpretation of the proportional relationships of the Palladian renaissance architecture of the 1923 schoolhouse achieves the district’s goals while maintaining adequate play areas.

5. Community Environment: (Cont.) The central plaza forms the heart of the campus and unifies the school by connecting all student life components. The density of the site creates a variety of urban spaces which are experienced by circulating through a central spine into which students feed from the bus drop-off to the north and the parent drop-off to the south. The front door along Breyman Avenue provides access to the community. The commons creates a new face and adds a community gathering space for the existing gymnasium which is frequently used as a community event space.

6. Flexible. Learning Environment: Multiple building additions and modifications had rendered the previous school unable to carry the level of educational excellence as one of Oregon’s top performing public schools into the 21 century. One of the goals of the project was to consolidate all classrooms into one building and to create a sustainable campus for 450 students which reflects current environmental values. Two classrooms are grouped by grade and have access to a central open break-out space which create small learning communities. Since the school pedagogy focuses on a high-quality and highly flexible curriculum, the break-out areas allow teachers to offer special small group education based on the special interests of individual students. Each community is connected to others through re-lites and circulation areas to allow for increased programmatic flexibility and re-grouping.

7. Learning Environment: (Cont.) “I noticed that the Zen-like atmosphere of the school has a very calming, almost cleansing effect on the students with special learning needs”. Mrs. Debbie Gorenstein, , RSD 3rd Grade Teacher An important factor of the K-8 pedagogy is the stimulation of communication between students of all grade levels. Seating steps, window sills and benches throughout the campus offer a variety of places for students to interact informally. The arts are also integrated into curriculum. The art classroom houses a kiln and is located in the new building where corridors and stairs serve as exhibition space. The free standing existing music pavilion connects to the stage in the existing gym.

8. A modern classic. Physical Environment: Formal strategies – like symmetry and classical proportions – inform all aspects of the project, from educational program to exposed structural systems. The vocabulary of Palladian Renaissance architecture provides a framework for sustainable strategies. The classical organization results in a compact, energy efficient economic footprint which allowed funds to be transferred to the building skin. The main building orientation was set by the original 1923 school. The exterior walls are 30-inches deep to provide vertical and horizontal sun shading and allow daylighting of the predominantly east and west facing classrooms. Additional storage is located inside the solid wall sections to compensate for the loss of casework below the windows due to the low sill height. The project was awarded LEED for Schools Gold certification.

9. Physical Environment: (Cont.) Large windows and low sill heights offer unobstructed views, connecting students to their environment and providing daylight to interior spaces throughout the year. White walls support daylighting and oak trim is used to create a horizon which addresses the scale of the students under the tall ceiling. A classical plinth accommodates stormwater planters which become learning tools. A displacement air system with hydraulic radiators eliminates duct work and increases comfort. Currently, no mechanical cooling is proposed for the classrooms. The entry sequence is experienced through a string of social gathering spaces where the students are invited to ”hang-out” and practice their communication soft skills in a world which they experience predominantly through the virtual interface of their computer screens.

10. Emotional connections. Planning Process: The design is the result of an interactive planning process which started with pre-bond planning studies in June 2008 and ended with occupancy in September 2010. The school district involved the community throughout the design. The planning included evaluation of existing conditions on campus, interviews with representatives from each area of the school to develop detailed planning needs and meetings with the steering committee and community advisory committee. From this information, planning parameters were developed, including a narrative and numeric program. A number of site studies were developed which overlaid the physical condition and renovation cost of the existing six buildings with the program needs and instructional goals.  

11. Planning Process: (Cont.) To transport the level of educational excellence as one of Oregon’s top performing public schools into the 21st Century, the school board decided to remove three of the six buildings and consolidate all classrooms into one new building. The architectural vocabulary of the original main building was employed to “speak” to the community and address the emotional connection that was felt with the place. The consolidation allowed renewed focus on student access to different nature settings: natural forest, playground, stormwater planters, playfields, plaza, bio swales, park, vegetable gardens, and composting. Students are now able to explore bio-diversity during on-site excursion , which in itself becomes an extended curriculum.

12. Floor plan

13. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2010 Project Data

14. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2010 Project Details