Issue and Proposed Solutions:
Many school districts are faced with aging facilities, located on sites where their student populations must still be served. Additionally, the cost of renovating the school can even exceed the cost of a new facility. Therefore, an on-site replacement allows a new school facility to be constructed while keeping the current school in operation and once the new school is occupied, the old school can be torn down for final completion of sitework.
What was your approach to working toward a solution?
Each on-site replacement project requires unique, creative solutions, and typically phasing, to develop a design that fits the site and prioritizes student safety during construction while the existing school is still in operation. Key considerations for successful solutions include a thorough understanding of site utilities; site topography; car, bus and pedestrian access to the school; as well as community engagement and buy-in to preserve and celebrate the replaced school’s history within the new facility.
How were you able to resolve/ minimize this challenge, and what was the overall impact?
With limited site on which to build a new facility, sustainable solutions often include reducing the new building footprint to a multi-story, compact facility to allow the remaining site to be used for improved site circulation, athletics, playgrounds, and outdoor learning once the existing facility is demolished. Having designed more than twenty-five on-site replacements in the past seven years, LS3P has been honored to have had a profound and positive impact on many students and communities.
