Town School for Boys Building as a Teaching Tool LOCATION
San
Francisco,
CA
|
DATES
Case Study 2008
–
present
|
SIZE
55,000
SF
A 50-year-old school building transformed into a 21st century teaching tool TYPE K-8 Education SERVICES Discovery & Visioning Facilities Assessment Master Planning Experience Design Agencies Entitlement Facility Design - Renovation Facility Design - Expansion Interim Campus Relocation
CHALLENGE | Create a modernized learning environment from an outdated facility located on a confined residential site without disrupting school operations. CONTEXT | Town School for Boys is a highly reputable, K-8 independent school with a long-standing tradition of educating San Francisco boys. The school’s vision is the integration of traditional instruction with inquiry-based, interdisciplinary, learning. To deliver on that vision, the existing facility needed substantial renovation and expansion; its location in an exclusive, hillside, residential neighborhood presented major obstacles, and multiple studies over the prior 10 years had failed to produce a viable solution.
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APPROACH | MKThink conducted a series of discovery, analytic, and creative workshops with the school leadership team. The workshops produced a baseline understanding of the facility’s strengths and shortcomings and yielded design concepts for environments to support the educational vision. These findings informed measurable, operational criteria for the ideal facility. From this framework, MKThink developed a fresh approach to the facility’s modernization. Aligning the project scope and schedule and investment requirements with educational outcomes established a strong case that convinced the school leadership to embrace comprehensive and non-disruptive renovation. ANALYTIC FINDINGS • 22,000 SF additional space required • 22% efficiency: rightsizing and scheduling modifications increase capacity from 9,274 to 10,987 SF • 38% better use of capital through on-site renovation • 43% more efficiency from single-phase, major expansion
MARK MILLER, AIA Principal, MKThink An entrepreneurial professional who founded and led the award winning businesses MKThink and Project FROG. He has an impressive history serving multiple corporate leadership roles including Founder, Chairman and CEO positions.
W. BREWSTER ELY IV Headmaster, Town School for Boys
STRATEGY | | MKThink presented Town School four strategic alternatives with options for on-site or off-site expansion, single phase or multiphase implementation, major or modest construction, and near-term or escalated construction costs.
“Learning is prized, love of school is essential, and boyhood is celebrated” This articulates our goal of fostering a love of learning, which will serve students throughout their lives.
The school opted for a 3-phase, major renovation of the existing structure on the current site. Renovations were timed to minimize disruption to school operations and coordinate with fundraising campaigns.
Town School For Boys: Building as a Teaching Tool
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Utilization findings
room-by-room analysis of utilization and occupancy patterns provided insight into facility needs
A
C
B
New exterior stair for egress from 2nd floor and athletic field
underground gym and theater facility.
Town School For Boys: Building as a Teaching Tool
compliant stair and elevator for roof access.
D
Excavation to make way for new
reconfiguration and expansion 30,000 sf of renovation and separate buildings into one unified space.
Renovation of 3-story building core with ADA-
24,500
New lobby, classrooms and front façade.
sf of new construction joined two functionally
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big dig 175,000 cf of material was excavated to make room for the 7,000 sf underground gym and theater facility.
façade the glass exterior allows natural daylighting to maximize student connection to the outdoors .
atrium stairwell the central core of the new building , the stairwell connects the east and west wings and provides an open , light-filled common space for casual student interaction .
Town School For Boys: Building as a Teaching Tool
Š 2017 MKThink
New stairwell connects two wings of the building and prom
21st century STEM classrooms
RESULT | MKThink’s recommended strategy resulted in a new Conditional Use Permit, an 8-year Entitlement Approval, and the completion of three phases of the four-phase Master Plan. • 20,302 new usable SF without the acquisition of new land or any loss of open space • 14% (8,000 NSF) increase in existing space utilization • 7% more classrooms (3,600 NSF or 4.5 classrooms) captured through rightsizing • $8M capital cost avoidance achieved through on-site efficiencies instead of new land acquisition (20,302 FAR SF x $400/FAR SF) • 74% of the facility modernized to serve as a “third-teacher” education tool
Town School For Boys: Building as a Teaching Tool
motes student interaction.
© 2017 MKThink
1500 Sansome Street | San Francisco, California 94111 mkthink.com | office@mkthink.com | 415.420.0888 Š 2017 MKThink