There are many considerations when site planning for schools. Forming useful outdoor spaces, especially in a southern climate when the outdoors can be used most of the year, is important.
The Griffin School 2nd floor lounge over looks the central courtyard. Photo: Leonid Furmansky
Students spend much of their time moving between classes. The spaces they move through are important for social interaction and can be developed as lounges, spaces for events and informal educational spaces.
Students moving between classes. Photo: Leonid Furmansky
With our Griffin School project, a high school in central Austin, we added a new building to the existing campus. In designing the space we work closely with our consultants landscape architects Studio Balcones and our civil engineers Civilitude.
Site Plan 1. New Building 2 ,3 Existing Buildings 4. Courtyard 5. Street 6. Alley
The new south facing building frames a central courtyard space. This courtyard is a vibrant common space that the students move through between classes. The space also functions for recreation, informal classes and school events. We placed the central stair to the 2nd floor classrooms on the exterior next to the courtyard space so that it would interact with the space. It’s also used as an informal podium onto the courtyard.
From the central stair Adam Wilson, the school director, addresses people gather for an event in the courtyard. Photo: Leonid Furmansky