Crossroads Elementary
Rachel Stagner ARCH 508 Nilou Vakil Fall 2018
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Crossroads Elementary is located in the heart of Kansas City in the Crossroads Arts District. The core idea with my school is to create a place C for students and children in the area to have a place to use specifically forD them. There is a lack of greenspace within a quarter mile radius of the site as well as in the surrounding city so I reserved half of the site to be a E public park space. B
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The emphasis on greenspace continues into the center of the building G in the form of a inner courtyard. Here, students will learn about plants and hands-on science with planting beds for each grade level to tend. In H order to strengthen the connetion to the rest of the space, I opened up the building into U-shape on the first floor to allow for free movement of students between courtyard to park space.
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The school will help serve the community and connect students to the outdoors in a place mainly covered in concrete and asphalt.
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Within the classroom, students should have options of how they want to learn. I designed a classroom that centered on flexible porject based learning. Grades are paired together in one large room that is divided by sliding wall panels; both rooms then share a large presentation and reading room.
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Site Plan
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A Moisture Barrier, White Rigid Insulation, Sloped 1/4” per 1’, min 6” Gypsum Board Concrete filled Decking
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Flashing Cap Terra Cotta Panel Clip System
I.2 Top of Parapet Lo 31' - 4"
Level 3 28' - 0"
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13.5’’ Exposed Ceiling
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6” Aluminum Louver 12” Aluminum Louver 24” Aluminum Louver Expanding Gasket
Reading Room
5th Grade Classroom
10’ Ceiling
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Breakout Space
Insulation Moisture Barrier Framing Stud
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Outside of the library, looking into the courtyard
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The classroom should foster an environment for learning that motivates students to want to learn. In order to help create this environment, this classroom is to focus on student-driven project-based learning. Young students often struggle to focus on shifting topics so by streamlining the education process to include an overarching theme between different subjects, students will stay interested in their schoolwork. Project-based learning helps students to use the subjects the learn about in class and apply them to a real-world application. Instead of focusing on test-based evaluation, where memorization is emphasized, students are encouraged to learn more about topics and pursue areas that interest them.
Class Space Shared Presentation Space
Smaller Presentation Large Presentation Soft Study Individual Desk Study Public Group Study Private Group Study Storage
Flexibility is a vital component of project-based learning because different students may be at different stages in their work; by providing a movable space, the classroom is able to adapt to the needs of individual students. Classes also do not have to be permanent—sharing multiple spaces with different classes can allow for groups to choose the space they need for that day. By dividing one larger room into multiple areas, a room can accommodate students better. With the digital age in full swing, students are equipped with their own laptops to use for research and assisting in learning. To create a flexible space, fixed items are kept to a minimum. In the typical “learning area,” desks and chairs have wheels on them, so that they are easily moved and reconfigured; the student desks are able to be put into circular groupings to allow for more intimate group discussions or to allow for the teacher to assist a smaller group. For more informal group work, students can use a softer space, with tiered seating. This can allow for students to sit or lay how they choose without the rigidity of a desk. This Class Space space can also transform into a presentation space, with the soft tiered seating being used as “stadium seating” around the presenter.Shared Presentation Space Smaller Presentation Large Presentation Soft Study Individual Desk Study Public Group Study Private Group Study Storage
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The building tucks into the north-east corner of the site and engages the preexisting street line. The west facade is set back from the property line to encourage green space use in front of thebuilding and create privacy for students entering the building. Floor 1
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During a site visit, I observed small details around the Crossroads. These inspired me and showed me the context of the area around the site and how clean details and small touches were carefully put into the district.
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West Elevation
South Elevation
Elevation East East Elevation
The materials chosen for the building were picked for the way they reflected the context of the Crossroads District. The majority of buildings in the area are deep brown-red brick with terracotta detailing. I chose terracotta panels that shared a similar color to the existing brick neighborhood that respected the history but did not try and copy the past. The Firestone building to the south of the site is covered in terracotta tiles and also inspired the material choice. The lines of the terracotta inspired the patterns of my panels. They emphasize the different uses of the building and the panel size differs on where students are around the building.
North Elevation
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13 Top of Parapet 31' - 4" Level 2.5 22' - 0" Level 2 14' - 0"
Level 1 0' - 0"
Longitudinal Section
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Top of Parapet 31' - 4" Level 2.5 22' - 0" Level 2 14' - 0"
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Transverse Section The sections explicitly show the C-shape of the building by highlighting the courtyard space and clearly revealing the bridge between the east and west sides on the second floor
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Moisture Barrier, White Rigid Insulation, Sloped 1/4” per 1’, min 6” Gypsum Board Concrete filled Decking
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Flashing Cap Terra Cotta Panel Clip System
I.2 Top of Parapet Lo 31' - 4"
Level 3 28' - 0" 13.5’’ Exposed Ceiling
6” Aluminum Louver 12” Aluminum Louver 24” Aluminum Louver Expanding Gasket
10’ Ceiling
5th Grade Classroom
Reading Room
Insulation Moisture Barrier Framing Stud
10’ Ceiling
Breakout Space
Hallway
8’ Ceiling
Vertical Louver Double Pane Insulated Glass
Terrazzo Finish, 1” Concrete, Reinforced Decking, 4” W 27 x 94 W 18 x 76
Level 2 14' - 0" 13.5’’Exposed Ceiling
Gypsum Ceiling with Recessed Lighting Sliding Glass Wall System
Reading Room Exposed Deck Ceiling Carpet, 1” Reinforced Concrete Slab, 4” Rigid Insulation, 4” Compacted Gravell, 4”
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2nd Grade Classroom
10’ Ceiling
Breakout Space
Hallway
8’ Ceiling
Perimeter Heating French Drain Reinforced Spread Footing, 36” deep
Level 1 0' - 0"
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The detailed wall section cuts through the south classrooms. This helps to illustrate the way that the light is filtered in through the curtain walls on both the north and south sides. The vertical louvers to the north allow for clear, uniterrupted views of the inner courtyard while the south curtain wall has a pattern of horizontal louvers that help frame views to the city while filtering light into the reading rooms on both floors. The ceiling heights are shown clearly in the drawing and help to show the spatial quality and feel of the spaces. The circulation in the hallway is bounded by a lower 8’ ceiling while the breakout space in the hallway opens up to a 10’ ceiling height. The reading room has the highest ceiling with an exposed ceiling that makes the room feel close to the outdoors.
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For the final review, I met with Jay Holley. I had met earlier with him to consult on my wall sections and specifically the bridge detail on my section model. Just as he was when I met him ath the Gould Evans office, he was very helpful and constructive during my review. I learned that while presenting my work, I don’t need to follow the order of which I designed my building but should instead focus on the main idea and explain the other concepts after. This helps to establish the thought process for the building and creates a better understanding of my overarching design process. He noted that when I explained my main idea he could see the excitement I had for the project over the intial explanation of purely what we did in studio. Another thing that Jay brought to my attention was that I had not thought “urban” enough, meaning I hadn’t thought of how people would actually use my building and site instead of what I planned for them to do with it. Because of this, I realize that some of my ideas on the park part of my project needed to be clarified and restructured to prevent undesirable behavior from happening. Lastly, Jay told me that it is good to think of a how a building will grow in the future, especially with schools. Because people are constantly being born, enrollment in schools will inevitably grow and the planning of the building needs to think of how best the school can grow. He pointed out that the green space that I put in needs to be meaningful and key to the project; the large setback of the front entrance could present an issue in the future as the Crossroads continues to grow and will stand out from the street line. If I were to continue working on this project, I would rework the site to have clearer intents for the use, including design that would discourage late night gathering or illegal activities: path lighting, friendly benches for day use, sidewalks that reflect actual paths. I would also revisit the west side of my school to see if the plans could be changed to better respect the street line and engage the city’s edges. This semester has allowed for me to grow tremendously as a designer and discover how to approach large design problems in reasonable sections.
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