Parker Elementary’s design offers building and site features that incorporate the school’s focus on music and how that is experienced within the community. This includes a large entry plaza for performances as well as outdoor spaces for teaching and student art pieces.
This new LEED certified school replaced an existing 50-year old building while creating a new landmark that provides balance between new and old within the established neighborhood. To accomplish this, the majority of street trees were maintained and the school was placed next to the city park to the west, opening up a large green space to the east. A SPARK Park completes the design’s ambition of creating a “school within the park.”
The 21st-century school focuses on the multi-functional use of interior and exterior spaces. The school’s design enhances this concept by activating hallways to become teaching spaces, enabling the corridor to be more than just a passageway. Teaching occurs not just within the classrooms and special rooms, but rather throughout the school.