A new 22,000-sf expansion project on Sonoma Academy’s 34-acre campus at the base of Taylor Mountain will add key academic, social, and cultural spaces to the independent college prep high school. The two-level education facility will act as the first of a two-phase campus transformation project.
San Francisco-based WRNS Studio designed the project to help achieve Sonoma Academy’s vision of creating a campus that will teach students about social, environmental, and food justice while fostering a hands-on teaching philosophy. The two-level facility is known as Grange & Studios. The top floor, which represents “The Grange” of Grange & Studios, has a teaching and commercial kitchen with a dining hall and outdoor learning spaces with flower, herb, and fruit tree gardens. The lower level, The Studios, has traditional STEM-inspire shops, art classrooms, technology rooms, media production studios, offices, and meeting spaces. The facility also has a vegetation-covered rooftop.
The green roof and cascading planters filter stormwater and rain water while a geo-exchange system, watershed block made with local soil, and photovoltaic panels to produce enough energy to offset the demand by over 15% mean that, when completed in July 2017, the buildings will be LEED Platinum, an Education Pilot for Well Building, and a Living Building Challenge candidate.
The second phase of the project will be focused on a new 450-seat performing arts theater and conservatory. Funding for the project has been provided entirely by private donations.
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | Feb 26, 2015
D.C.'s Dunbar High School is world's highest-scoring LEED school, earns 91% of base credits
The 280,000-sf school achieved 91 points, out of 100 base points possible for LEED, making it the highest-scoring school in the world certified under USGBC’s LEED for Schools-New Construction system.
K-12 Schools | Feb 25, 2015
Polish architect designs modular ‘kids city’ kindergarten using shipping container frames
Forget the retrofit of a shipping container into a building for one moment. Designboom showcases the plans of Polish architect Adam Wiercinski to use just the recycled frames of containers to construct a “kids city.”
University Buildings | Feb 23, 2015
Future-proofing educational institutions: 5 trends to consider
In response to rapidly changing conditions in K-12 and higher education, institutions and school districts should consider these five trends to ensure a productive, educated future.
University Buildings | Feb 20, 2015
Penn strengthens campus security by reviving its surrounding neighborhood
In 1996, the University of Pennsylvania’s sprawling campus in Philadelphia was in the grip of an unprecedented crime wave. But instead of walling themselves off from their surrounding neighborhoods, the school decided to support the community.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2015
Preparing for the worst: Campus security since Virginia Tech
Seven years after the mass shootings at Virginia Tech, colleges and universities continue to shake up their emergency communications and response capabilities to shootings and other criminal threats.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2015
BD+C exclusive: How security is influencing campus design and construction
Campus crime—whether real or perceived—presents Building Teams with more opportunities for early-stage consultation with university clients.
Sponsored | Roofing | Feb 11, 2015
New school blends with local architecture using Petersen metal roof
Perkins Eastman in Stamford, Conn., designed the school to emphasize and integrate the International Baccalaureate curriculum throughout.
Architects | Feb 11, 2015
Shortlist for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award announced
Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rotterdam are the cities where most of the shortlisted works have been built.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 6, 2015
Under the sea: Manmade island functions as artificial reef
The proposed island would allow visitors to view the enormous faux-reef and its accompanying marine life from the water’s surface to its depths, functioning as an educational center and marine life reserve.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 5, 2015
5 developments selected as 'best in urban placemaking'
Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, S.C., and the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Downtown Market are among the finalists for the 2015 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence.
