Page 41 - School Planning & Management, July/August 2017

FACILITIES { LEARNING SPACES }
Wilderness Wonder
How place influences design.
By Aimee Eckmann
SITUATED ON A 10-ACRE BIRCH-FORESTED SITE in Wasilla, Alaska, the 400-student Dena’ina Elementary School is a new model for the district with a focus on col-
laboration, flexible learning, and community inclusion, topics that are at forefront of school facility discussions nationwide.
The Perkins+Will design architects, working with Bettisworth North Architects, the architect of record and landscape archi-
tect, facilitated a four-day collaborative workshop process with
a variety of school stakeholders, which resulted in the building concept and overall form. This process and subsequent develop- ment yielded the planning efficiency, interior and exterior material selection, outdoor play spaces and landscape design, down to the details of where snowy boots are stored.
Materiality
The building’s materiality draws on cues from the surrounding natural landscape. The use of exterior wood paneling is contextual in the birch forest. A stone tile base is designed to withstand abundant
snow. The abundant use of glass brings that nature inside, visible from every space within the building. Spaces are flooded with daylight, a crit- ical consideration in a location where children and teachers often arrive and depart during the dark hours of the winter months. Color-changing LED pendant lights add a comforting and uplifting element to ease the lack of sunshine during the early mornings and late afternoons.
The desire for light-filled space in a cold climate meant careful consideration of glazing quantities and locations, and the architec- tural form is truly reflective of these interior needs. A continuous south-facing clerestory above the second floor illuminates the central multi-purpose space. The dramatic shift in sun angles throughout the year served as an inspiration and opportunity to celebrate and play with light patterns.
Colored glass panels, inspired by the palette of local native artwork, were layered into the exterior and interior windows, creating multi-col- ored ribbons of light that sweep across the classrooms and the central commons. A large perforated form was chosen for the guardrails of
the upper mezzanine to add texture to the light. Designing spaces with
JULY/AUGUST 2017 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 41
PHOTO © KEVIN G. SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY