Case Study: River Terrace Special Education Campus

River Terrace

Special Education Campus

River Terrace Special Education Campus is the new home of Washington DC students with medical complications, mobility impairments or profound intellectual disabilities. The award-winning building provides a nurturing and supportive environment for students ages 5 to 22, and for students of varying abilities.

Fanning Howey partnered with a local Washington, DC architecture firm to design the renovations that turned an abandoned elementary school into one of the nation’s most cutting-edge facilities for special education.

STUDENT POPULATION:

• Students aged 5-22 with Individualized Education Programs

• May have moderate to profound intellectual disabilities

• May have mobility impairments

• May be otherwise health impaired (medically fragile).

Transforming an Outdated Campus

Parking lot before renovation of abandoned elementary school

The District chose to renovate River Terrace Elementary School, a traditional school building that had been abandoned for ten years.

To deliver the required program within the constricted site, Bryant Mitchell and Fanning Howey’s design repurposed an existing parking lot to create an enclosed courtyard for sensory stimulation. A simplified circulation pattern was chosen, organized around the large central courtyard, and multiple barrier-free strategies were used to make River Terrace an open and comfortable environment for every student.

COURTYARD DESIGN FEATURES

• Musical instruments for auditory stimulation, including Pagoda Bells, Chimes and a Xylophone

• Carefully planned outdoor journeys through ADA-compliant walkways

• Art terrace for school and community use

Enclosed courtyard after renovation and conversion of parking lot

Instead of traditional classrooms, River Terrace features oversized classrooms with custom furniture to accommodate wheelchairs and technologies to aid students with hearing difficulties, helping them to better understand their teachers.

Accessible playground equipment supports students with varying abilities.

A large Workforce Development Center teaches students valuable job skills to prepare them for careers.

Designing for the Senses

DESIGN STRATEGIES

FOR 7 SENSES

• Sight

• Sound

• Smell

• Touch

• Taste

• Vestibular (Movement / Balance)

• Proprioception (Body Awareness / Coordination)

The students reclined in wheelchairs spend much of their lives looking up, so the design of the lighting and ceilings of the facilities was very important. The building features a variety of ceiling designs and stimulating lights, all of which are mild and gentle. Children with autism don’t respond well to fluorescent lights, so the entire River Terrace campus uses LED lighting. The use of glass and open spaces makes the environment of River Terrace highly transparent, so there is always something for students to look at.

The campus also includes a Winter Garden, which is an indoor section of River Terrace’s courtyard featuring grow lights with plantings that students can see, touch and smell. The garden allows students to experience nature year-round, using all of their senses.

A clear circulation pattern gives students an easy way to find their place in the building.

RIVER TERRACE EDUCATION CAMPUS

The campus also required highly-specialized design solutions to meet the needs of students in mind, body and spirit.

An indoor Winter Garden allows students to experience sensory learning during any season.

A therapy pool features an ADA ramp for wheelchair entry, a hoist and a chair lift for full accessibility.

No-slip rubber flooring ensures footing for students and provides acoustical remediation.

OHIO

128 West Market St

Celina, OH 45822 419.586.7771

4930 Bradenton Ave Suite 200 Dublin, Ohio 43017 614.764.4661

INDIANA

350 East New York St Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317.848.0966

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