Gloria Marshall Elementary School
Gloria Marshall Elementary School uses all spaces as learning laboratories, connecting education with the built and natural environments. The design incorporates elements of openness and transparency that encourage productivity.
The theme of the EP Exhibit 2016 is It Takes a Community. Selected projects showcase the best work from young designers highlighting community impact and engagement.
The design of Gloria Marshall Elementary School grew from the use of materials that relate to the earth and the desire to create a building engaging for children through clean, simple lines that denote the form of the school.
While this school is a model for sustainability and efficiency, the most important aspect of the innumerable features implemented is that they not only shape the design of the school, but they also act as teaching tools for the students.
A courtyard situated in front of the building provides a space for students to congregate as well as learn from the eco-pond, science garden, water trough, and cistern that comprise the area. Lumber harvested from trees on site was repurposed within the school, including a “tree house” sitting above the library.
The tactile features of this space are aesthetically interesting while still appealing to children.
Various other opportunities for learning are scattered throughout the school, consistently reiterating that this is indeed a building for students to interact with, not simply attend. Communal centralized areas retain an openness found throughout the school, allowing for a variety of spaces to feel interconnected, and for the students to experience transparency within the building.
