Architectural Renderings
Steiner Campus
At the heart of the Steiner Campus is the new home for the Middle School and the Upper School, a magnificent learning center where each school division will be oriented around a central atrium and garden courtyard. Classrooms for these divisions will be located in distinctly separate areas to honor the developmental differences between younger adolescents and the more mature teenaged students, yet all classrooms will be within close proximity to shared spaces. In this building, the hallways and commons areas will provide generous space for team-based study, group meetings, and exhibitions of student art and classroom projects.
Phase 1A; Fields and Infrastructure
In January, Jennifer Devlin and Brad Jacobson of EHDD Architects and local landscape architect Terrall Budge of DesignWorkshop presented the most detailed vision yet of Phase One, the sports facilities and fields and plans for infrastructure and landscaping. Here are a few details that are emerging that we hope you’ll be excited about as well:
• The 70- by 110-yard varsity soccer field with amphitheater seating, plus an adjacent ample practice soccer field to accommodate middle school soccer practice and competition
• The 11,000 square-foot floor space in the new main gym (current McCarthey gym is 8,000 sq. ft.)
• Retractable seating for 420 spectators in the main gym (current Lincoln Street gym seats 300)
• The entry configuration to the main gym that allows spectators to be seated without walking on the court
• The half-sunken configuration of the main gym…it’s partially underground… so our Steiner Campus will be free of the “big box gym” look
• The upper story indoor track surrounding the main gymnasium
• The practice gym with seating for 150 spectators, perfect for middle school play
• Light-filled spacious areas looking out over the practice gym for cardio, jump and stretch, and core workouts, plus a weight room
• Locker rooms located near staff offices and more storage than we asked for
• Two outdoor hoops courts and 4-square courts
• The covered walkway design between the main classroom building (Phase Two) and the gyms
• Emerging thoughts about the pedestrian connections between the two campuses
• The gracious tree-lined, three-lane campus entry with a walkway from Sunnyside Avenue to the interior of the new Steiner Campus
• Thoughtful landscape design that minimizes building views for neighbors looking across Sunnyside Avenue, but maximizes city and mountain views from our location
• Landscaping that features native plants, drought-tolerant trees, sustainable paving materials and textures (after all, this campus, in every way, should teach our students about living responsibly in their environment)
The school’s finance committee has diligently vetted costs associated with this step-by-step design process over the past five years and, thankfully, donors to this specific project have generously made gifts to cover our “start up” expenses. We are very grateful for the generosity of all those who have already committed to the Capital Campaign and hope their enthusiasm is contagious!
The Middle School
Adolescent students require room to collaborate and engage in active, hands-on study. That is why each new Middle School classroom will be 130-square feet larger, on average, than existing Lincoln Street classrooms, and will be clustered by grade level that allow for team-based teaching. Each learning space will take full advantage of views from the site while maximizing the potential for natural lighting. Faculty will move lessons to easily accessible outdoor classrooms and gardens for applied learning, study, and reflection. Because hallways often become an extension of classrooms, the corridors of the new Middle School will provide commons and nooks for study, socializing, and meeting, in a way that fosters community.
The Upper School
In their extraordinary new environment, Upper School students will excel at the highest level. In all, the Upper School on the new Steiner Campus will be 33 percent larger. Laboratories and specialized spaces will be flexible, classrooms and storage areas will be spacious, and the layout will address a broad array of technological needs. There will be commons areas designed for groups to gather, collaborate, engage in creative pursuits, and relax. Upper School students will enjoy classrooms that are more consistently sized at 600 square feet, and they will access outdoor learning environments and other spaces that provide maximum support for science, art, technology, and media exploration. Technology will be seamlessly integrated and science labs will be flexible and fully equipped with digital enhancements. On the Lincoln Street Campus, the Upper School's wide corridors and hallways have become socially interactive focal points, allowing students to gather, while teachers, parents, and others pass by and participate in the spirit of the community. The new campus will maintain this tradition of active hallways with enhanced "sun lounges" to allow for gathering between lockers.
