River Grove Elementary School in Lake Oswego, Ore., was designed to be fully electric and resilient to natural disasters such as seismic events, storms, and wildfire. The roughly 78,000-sf school in a Portland suburb will feature a microgrid—a small-scale power grid that can operate independently from the area’s electric grid.
Design of the microgrid system was developed through a collaboration between the school district and the local utility provider. River Grove will be one of the first American schools to be constructed with a microgrid.
The structure is designed to a higher seismic factor as a Category IV building to serve as a resource for the local community in the event of an earthquake or other natural disaster. Portions of the building will continue to function during a prolonged power outage thanks to the large photovoltaic array and battery energy storage system.
The building has a sophisticated heating, cooling, and ventilation system, a critical feature in an area experiencing soaring temperatures during heatwaves in recent years. The region has also been impacted by smoke-filled air from forest fires and ice storms causing power outages for weeks.
River Grove is a replacement of a 1967 elementary school that existed on the same site. The previous 68,846 sf school was fully demolished, and students moved off-site to another school during construction.
The new school will provide classrooms, extended learning areas, an innovation lab, music room, stage, library, administration offices, gymnasium, kitchen, an outdoor covered play area, outdoor learning spaces, and play fields. The building is designed for a capacity of 600. The previous facility had a capacity of 575.
Construction kicked off in June 2022, with completion expected for the school’s opening in Fall 2024.
Owner and/or Developer: Lake Oswego School District
Design Architect: Arcadis
Architect of Record: Arcadis
MEP Engineer: Glumac
Structural Engineer: KPFF
General Contractor: Triplett Wellman
![River Grove Elementary School in Oregon Rendering: Arcadis](/sites/default/files/inline-images/River%20Grove%20Elementary%20Rendering%202.jpg)
![River Grove Elementary School in Oregon Rendering: Arcadis](/sites/default/files/inline-images/River%20Grove%20Elementary%20Rendering%203.jpg)
![River Grove Elementary School in Oregon Rendering: Arcadis](/sites/default/files/inline-images/River%20Grove%20Elementary%20Rendering%204.jpg)
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | Oct 2, 2023
4 design strategies for successful K-12 magnet schools
Clark Nexsen's Donna Francis, AIA, Principal, and Becky Brady, AIA, share four reasons why diverse K-12 magnet schools require diverse design.
Contractors | Sep 25, 2023
Balfour Beatty expands its operations in Tampa Bay, Fla.
Balfour Beatty is expanding its leading construction operations into the Tampa Bay area offering specialized and expert services to deliver premier projects along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
K-12 Schools | Sep 5, 2023
CHPS launches program to develop best practices for K-12 school modernizations
The non-profit Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) recently launched an effort to develop industry-backed best practices for school modernization projects. The Minor Renovations Program aims to fill a void of guiding criteria for school districts to use to ensure improvements meet a high-performance threshold.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
K-12 Schools | Aug 7, 2023
Two new school projects part of larger district-wide improvement plans
Gladstone Elementary in Rhode Island, and Plum Grove Middle School in Illinois, reflect trends toward collaboration and consolidation.
Market Data | Aug 1, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending increases slightly in June
National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending is up 18% over the past 12 months. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.07 trillion in June.
K-12 Schools | Jul 31, 2023
Austin’s new Rosedale School serves students with special needs aged 3 to 22
In Austin, the Rosedale School has opened for students with special needs aged 3 to 22. The new facility features sensory rooms, fully accessible playgrounds and gardens, community meeting spaces, and an on-site clinic. The school serves 100 learners with special needs from across Austin Independent School District (ISD).
Market Data | Jul 24, 2023
Leading economists call for 2% increase in building construction spending in 2024
Following a 19.7% surge in spending for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings in 2023, leading construction industry economists expect spending growth to come back to earth in 2024, according to the July 2023 AIA Consensus Construction Forecast Panel.